There's a Great Stretch in the Evenings

Of all the Irish sayings, the title of my blog post is the one that lifts my heart the most.

There is such optimism in the air right now. The feeling that we've survived the worst of the winter and are safely the other side of that chilly season.

Even if the rest of the northern hemisphere think the first day of Spring falls on March 21st, the reality is, we really like to get ahead in Ireland and declare the 1st of February, the first day of Spring.


Whatever about the coldness yet of the days, the extra light makes all the difference - that great stretch in the evenings.


 And down the road from me, I spotted some green shoots.



Even super poet, Emily Dickinson, had some upbeat feelings about Spring:
    

A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad
On Solitary Fields
That Science cannot overtake
But Human Nature feels.

It waits upon the Lawn,
It shows the furthest Tree
Upon the furthest Slope you know
It almost speaks to you.