By Kathy Hughes
A warm spell in mid-winter — is it false hope or a promise winter won’t last forever? Driving up Route 92, during a recent warm spell I saw a hawk, and there was a bug on my windshield.
Hawks are migratory birds and can be found in large numbers, soaring on warm currents of air, particularly along the southern shores of Lake Ontario. There is even a hawk observatory maintained by the Audubon Society located not too far away at Derby Hill. For me, this early visitor, perched regally on a wire was a personal message, that nature is also thinking about spring — no computer necessary.
Yet, we all know that Spring is a long way off — at least eight weeks. The poet, T.S. Elliot, wrote these words:
April is the cruelest month, breeding
lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
memory and desire, stirring
dull roots with spring rain.
My interpretation is that the month of April is a cruel tease, promising what it won’t deliver.
These, still little signs in February, coupled with the noticeably longer days — are they false hopes, torturing us with signs that Spring is imminent? The calendar and long experience tell us yes — it’s too soon to get our hopes up, we are being set up for disappointment. Don’t be fooled, there are still weeks of cold, biting winds and snow ahead.
But is it false hope? Spring will arrive in all its glory, so with the long haul ahead, these, premature, but earnest promises, give us energy to keep trudging on. Although there is a long way to go, this winter will not stay forever — its days are numbered.
Research has confirmed for us that pessimists are more often right, but optimists are happier, and are in it for the long run. Spring is not imminent, but, eventually, it will happen. Promise.
