A Beautiful Herald of Spring in Bridgewater.

Crocuses by the pin oak in the front yard.  (Image/Dick Bergeron)

Even if it’s just for a few moments, there are times when a person has to get away from the noise and conflict that we all tend to create for ourselves. The beauty of nature can help, because it has a way of quieting the soul from the dissonance of daily life.

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, after returning from a brisk walk and a long-overdue haircut, I secured the car in the driveway and decided to check on the status of the front-yard garden.

It is still quite somnolescent and weary from the effects of winter.  Nevertheless, at least one butterfly plant seemed to have shown early signs of greening in its bottom branches.  I think that it’s just teasing me with remnants from last fall.

About half of the plantings out front need to be cut close to the ground to make room for the new flowering growth that I am hoping for, come May and June.  I’ll start on those welcome outdoor chores soon, perhaps by the weekend, if favorable temperatures and clear skies prevail. 

Overall, the garden is in good shape. 

As I took my leave from it, and walked up towards the front door, a small dash of color caught my attention at the base of the pin oak.  What I saw with much delight, as I approached the tree were three blooms of crocus, thrusting their heads up through the surface of the earth, pointing directly south towards the life-giving light of the sun, which had them fixed in its late winter glow.

The sun, the clouds and the light can change very fast this time of year:  I quickly would have to capture the transient beauty of what had just crossed my path.  

The result is what you see in the accompanying photo.  The dictionary explains that the crocus is a solitary flower which is among the first to bloom in the spring.  Those that I was able to record onto an image yesterday arrived five days ahead of schedule.  Sunday will mark the first day of spring.

There is a very old  verse which some of you may recollect:  It begins like this, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”  

Just substitute ‘crocus’ for ‘lily’ in the quote above, and you can get an idea of the depth of the lesson which nature teaches every day, if only we will look and listen.