“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” — John Muir

Spring seems to be on the mind of just about everyone this week. Even if the yard at Mom & Dad’s is still soggy and it is supposed to rain today — you can still feel it.

It could be because we’ve finally gotten some decent weather this week — blue skies, sun shining; or it could just be the blooming trees and birdsong giving us all a springtime lift. Whatever the reason, social networks like Facebook are full of posts about spring and you can see if everywhere.

People that I am friends with on the social network have made numerous posts this week about baseball, butterfly sightings, flowers, budding trees and even the inevitability of pollen.

I am also guilty of a spring-related post — having posted a photo of a dogwood tree in bloom. I guess it is the mindset; the change of seasons is eternal as it is internal. We sense it and we want to rejoice and bask in the splendor of it all.

From the smells of freshly mown grass and overturned earth to the sights of glorious Bradford pear trees and vivid forsythia — spring has finally arrived.

The birds have been keeping my company on daily walks with my dog. I’ve spotted a bluebird; a red bellied woodpecker and I hear regularly but have only seen a few times, a pileated woodpecker. I also hear the call of owls at night. Songbirds wake me up in the mornings and tree frogs serenade at night. They all seem to be rejoicing.

Then there’s the flora spectacle — feast for the eyes — everywhere you turn.

I’ve always thought this area — all the towns and countryside — is beautiful this time of year. Riding around I’m stuck anew by the flowers and trees bountiful in all their finery. Wednesday morning I smelled the fragrance of spirea wafting on the breeze. Spring is indeed a feast for the senses and it really does uplift the spirit.

Although I’ve had personal loss in the springtime in years past when my brother passed away on Easter Sunday 1993 — time tempers the pain and spring endures for me now in a positive way.

I’ve enjoyed seeing and reading what my friends post on the Internet. It gives you camaraderie of sorts. Even though you may be miles apart from a special friend or loved one; you can share not only the arrival of spring but also all the seasons. It brings us all together in a way, sharing the universal love of the simple joys of a new season.

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day,” wrote Robert Frost.

Winter has passed and we seem to reach for the warmth of the sun, even if the air is cold and the wind makes it colder. It is the promise — the assurance of blooms and growth and newness again.

No matter the weather over the next few weeks, we know the dogwoods and azaleas will bloom and we know that spring will slide in to summer. Enjoy these cool, bright days while we can because soon we’ll be complaining about the heat and humidity.

“Spring drew on . . . and a greenness grew over those brown [garden] beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” — Charlotte Bronte’

LUCY WALLACE is managing editor of The Tidewater News. Her email address is lucy.wallace@tidewaternews.com.