signs of spring

Someday I AM going to the Holi Festival in India. Until then , I practice in Spanish Fork. I went with my little goats. Kevin opted for a morning on the tread mill. We arrived early as thousands of people go. And for good reason..it is awesome. Of course ,there was snow on the ground here..that doesn't happen in India. The crowd soon trampled it down into mud. Luckily the colored chalk made it look happy and spring-like. These pictures are off google as ours did not turn out so well. I noticed pretty early on that the crowd was made up of very young people. Much to my children's credit, the did not shun me. Oh, wait..there was a 50-ish woman with her hair blowing in the wind, dancing with abandon to the strains of an indian sutar..I didn't join her ( although -yes- it looked like fun.) So, it was the hippie,me and 8,000 high school and college students.Reminiscent of last years float down the salt river with a mostly ASU crowd. Hmmmm..well,it is a fun and messy welcome to spring.

Such a cool picture !! Ok, my other rite-of-spring-passage is more age appropriate. I know spring is coming when I smell the bonfires of last years dead branches and leaves, and the smoke trickles into our house. I just Love that. So with burn permit in hand, I drag whatever lucky child is near to help me move the trampoline out of its pit. The ideal bonfire spot !! Then with much joy and frolicking I pick up around the yard and toss it into the fire. It is either a latent urge left over from some farming posterity, or pyromania. Probably the latter. But man, it feels Good !! You just can't start spring or a garden without a good burn first. My children can attest to how excited I get when the town hall issues me my permit for the year. This might be my last one if they read this blog. But can anyone out there relate to this?! Happy Spring to you ( it is suppose to snow the next 3 days..grrrr.)