Where is Spring?

 

As spring arrives in the valley, gardens are planted and flower beds tended.  The flowering fruit trees are all in bloom.  A day of temperatures in the mid-seventies earlier this week convinced us that spring really was here.  For the past five or six weeks we have been wishing to take the trek to the cabin, but each time we set aside to go to the mountains, they seem to get more snow which makes access impossible.  Earlier this week we decided to try again.  With picnic lunch and warm clothes, we headed mountain-ward in our truck.  Soon it was obvious that spring had not really arrived on the mountaintop yet.  The earth had a trodden look because heavy snows have packed down plants.  The wildflowers were not yet in bloom, and mud and snowbanks made the journey challenging, to say the least.  Our road to the green gate was full of deep, soggy snow.  So, we parked along the road and walked in.  The little green cabin was waiting, just as we had left it last autumn.  It is always reassuring to find that a tall tree hasn't fallen on it, or that deep snow hasn't collapsed the roof on the bunk house.  The capped chimney was still wrapped to prevent moisture from seeping inside.  Winterization will be reversed next trip to the mountain.  This was only an exploratory journey.  Mountain breezes stirred up a chill that was in the air, and without a fire inside, we decided to wait to open up the cabin and simply picnic outside by a campfire.  Hot tea, sandwiches, and crisp Fuji apples were enjoyed by a crackling fire as we appreciated and enjoyed the view of the watershed canyon and the next mountain ridge.  The first trip to the cabin each spring is always a milestone that is much anticipated and enjoyed.  Happiness.