April 30

April at an end. Late this afternoon, in the warmth of the spring sunshine that we have so desperately craved, I sat in the middle of the front lawn with the dogs, doing nothing more than letting the sun hit my face and listening to the sounds of spring.

The lawn is just beginning to green and lengthen, and the dogs were content to simply sit idly on their sides with tongues lolling out. It is a contentment we could only imagine not too long ago and as much as nature is expressing her desire to “hurry, hurry” toward maturity, I want no more than the pace to slacken now. These are days to be alive, to “rejoice evermore” in the words of New Englander John Adams, who quoted Thessalonians.

The lawn is gathering dandelions now, and they fit nicely among the violets that have been taking hold increasingly each year. I won’t need to mow for another few weeks, and that is mostly to even the lawn, yet this first cut also sadly removes the purples and yellows that color the front.