We're not big on lawns. Yes, we need grass for the dogs. Else we'd put stone throughout the yard. But, we aren't big on chemicals to make the grass grow. Or worrying about how long it is this week. Or, planting flowers to make it look prettier. Don't get me wrong, I love well manicured lawns and flowers and gardens of vegetables. But, I am not capable of taking care of them so... I don't have them at my house. I admire them from afar - from the kitchen at my daughter's house, from the patio at my brother's, from my couch... as I watch HGTV.

All of this is a part of the change from spring to summer, from that quick moment of watching the sun melt the last bit of snow off the tree limbs, to reveal the buds eager to burst forth. And, in our lives, we, too, are emerging anew. We feel a tingle of energy in our bones - we walk a little longer in the morning, we stay up a little later in the evening, we sigh the eternal sigh of happiness - glad that we made it through another blustery winter - where the wind and cold and blizzardy weather threatened to do us in! Despite central heating!

June truly is busting out all over - beyond the meadow and the hill. It's busting out in the strip malls (lots more activity as you drive by or stop in for a coffee); it's busting out all over in the neighborhood (with the laughter of children playing out doors, the barking of dogs cautioning other dogs to stay out of their yards, and the scampering of prairie dogs - or squirrels - intent on today's breakfast or lunch). Each spring that beckons the coming summer is a part of the bursting out all over, isn't it? When June arrives, it may not officially be summer, but in our hearts and our feet it is. (seriously... didn't you get the flip-flops out weeks ago?)

I often wonder how it is in climates that do not have weather changes. How do they celebrate the coming warmth and abundance? 

Sad for them.