Spring Is Here!

Spring may actually have arrived in Northern Kentucky. I had hopes from my visit to see the Harlot in Lexington, but on my way to Louisville I became convinced. There are two seasons in Kentucky that are hard to beat: Spring and Fall. For those of you unacquainted with the Kentucky landscape, here is a brief primer. West of I-65, the rolling hills of Kentucky flatten out as the state stretches to the Mississippi and barbecue country. East of I-75, the rolling hills of Kentucky grow into the Appalachians. In between you get a bit of a mix. Through out the whole, there is an abundance of trees, grass, cash crops, and flowers.

In the spring it is as if the entire state shimmers with the glow of youth. The whole state has this earthy, fertile smell that lets you know that life abounds. The colors of the budding and blooming trees glisten against a pale blue sky. The flowers shine in all their glory against the fresh green of the grass.

Before long, however, Spring is smothered by the humid heat of Summer. The trees and flowers droop. The tomatoes and sweet corn are the few things that seem to thrive. After all the sap of Spring, Summer encourages one to anticipate the coolness of Fall.

When Fall appears, the trees salute a deep blue sky. The trees, which seemed to be bit players in Spring, claim their full status in nature. What was brilliantly verdant in Spring and Summer transforms into the royal colors of gold, copper, crimson, and deepest sienna. Fall in Appalachia can make it difficult to find a word or phrase to capture the scene. The fertile smell of Spring returns, only deeper and older, as if the ground itself knows that it must lay back its own preserves to see itself through Winter until Spring comes again.

Fall fades to Winter, with its clean, clear smell. By January, it is easy to forget that anything grew here. The steel gray sky seems equally willing to rain, snow or both.

For now, it feels Spring has come. I see more vibrant colors in my stash. Colors that seemed terribly inappropriate to knit during the Winter months call my needles and I am helpless. I will revel in the colors for the time is short that browns and grays consent to live in the back of the stash.