This story first appeared in CityView Magazine’s “The Spring Issue” April 2026 edition.
Along the old country road where I live, there was still snow piled in the shady spots. It was February, and without a doubt, still winter.
Except …
Up there on the hill by the red-roofed horse barn, the neighborhood’s earliest redbud was already blossoming. And the next week, the spring peepers were singing away from their puddles and mudholes in the woods. The cardinals were singing their love songs, and the red-shouldered hawks were screeching away, hoping to charm their mates.
It comes as a small-but-delightful surprise every year. The calendar says there’s another month of winter ahead, but nature’s flora and fauna are reminding us they know better. Spring is happening, and there’ll be no stopping the procession of rebirth. It’s one of the most reassuring feelings in my world—the time when I’m reminded that the cycle of life will resume, the bleakness will vanish, and new gifts will appear—wildflowers blooming, baby birds learning to fly, fawns taking their gentle, tentative steps into their new world.
This should be my signal to begin the ritual of spring cleaning, but of course (if you know me) it’s not. Rather, it’s time to get out some photo gear, grab a dog or two, and head out to the woods, fields, and rivers nearby. The winter dust, grime, and leaf litter will have to wait.
While I’m out there, awaiting the return of the ospreys to their giant nest of twigs and branches by the lake, and the first bloom of the dogwoods in the still-brown woods, I’ll be thinking about this year’s garden. What will it be, beyond the obligatory tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beans, and jalapenos? Should I give potatoes a try this year? Garlic and onions? Something exotic-looking from the squash family? Oh, the lovely decisions!
And then I wonder this: Can spring give us a civic rebirth, too? Can the fresh, warm breezes bring a new wave of involvement in the life we share with our neighbors? It’s an election year, of course, so voting will be one of our best civic gestures. Working for a good candidate is even better. And maybe run for office, too? Well, let’s not get carried away, although a lot of local municipal boards sure could use your help. So could dozens of civic groups and other gatherings around common interests.
There are a host of ways to get involved without standing up as a target for all the souls who disagree with you. One of my favorites is joining a neighborhood cleanup campaign, getting all that litter off the shoulders of our roads. Yes, I do resent all those idiots who have no care or respect for our streetscapes, who carelessly toss their fast-food detritus out their car windows with disdain for their own community. But when the Good Lord created Homo sapiens, he decided to teach us patience and goodwill by giving us a heaping helping of nitwits. That’s one of our burdens in life. We can deal with it, or we can let ourselves be buried in their trash.
Beyond cleanups, there’s volunteering to help the homeless, teaching adults to read, and mentoring kids who need a good adult role model.
Even more basic, we can decide to simply be a good human being—maybe setting the goal of making one other person smile each day, or saying one positive, complimentary thing to random strangers.
Although I spent almost all of my 50-year journalism career as a writer and editor, it was photography that first lured me into the news business—a phase that lasted barely a year before I was introduced to the joys of a typewriter keyboard. But I’ve always yearned for moments when I could pick up a camera and capture the image of something beautiful. Since I retired, I’ve done that a lot. And one of the most satisfying things I do now is sharing little bits of beauty that I find while I’m out in the woods and fields that surround my home. If one image makes one other person smile, then I’ve had a good day—sometimes, a really good day.
And that’s really enough. I don’t need to be a celebrity or a big-deal leader. I don’t even want that. I just want to smile a lot and give other people a reason to smile, too.
Just imagine what life would be like—how pleasant it could be—if every one of us made that our goal each day.
The snow is gone. Daylight is lingering longer. The sun is warming the land. The birds are singing—and we should be too. Spring is here. Enjoy every minute of it.