Good friends presented us with a hyacinth plant, and it is now blooming. The pleasant fragrance fills the living room. The six sedum plants along the north side of the house are poking through the ground and are about 2 inches high. The huge maple trees (Acer Saccharinum)  in the back yard are shedding their reddish buds and sprinkling the patio. In a few weeks, the seed pods will develop and will helicopter down in their whirlybird fashion. We planted two maple trees in 1974, the couple years after moving to Tomah from La Crosse. Our two sons, ages 4 and 2, helped me. A neighbor sauntered over and we engaged in conversation.

“I see you’re planting a couple trees,” he said. “Yes, and normally it would take me about a half-hour, but with my boys helping, it’ll only take me one hour,” I replied. The four-year-old spoke up and said, “Dad, you got that backward.” Of course, I didn’t, but that is the joy of planting a tree. Now, with the whole countryside greening up, the woods take on a beautiful light green hue that will last about 10 days to two weeks, until the foliage turns to a darker green. It’s a beautiful transition and one I look forward to and very much enjoy.

            In contrast, we attended a funeral in Cashton on Thursday. A man, brother to a member of our Church and a Knights of Columbus member, passed suddenly and way too young at age 76. Said to have died on the operating table. The contrast is striking, the slow awakening and rebirth of Spring and the unexpected and abrupt end of life.