COLUMN: Ramblings: Signs of spring are all around us

It is usually necessary to have an ending before we celebrate a beginning. I celebrated the end of winter with a visit to McCormick's Creek State Park this week. My trip to the park created this poem.

"Farewell"

I hear the songs of the spring peepers.
I feel the warmth of the sun.
I smell the awakening earth.
I taste the sweet rain of spring.
I see the tiny green leaves.
Winter has ended.

Today I celebrate the first day of spring. Mother Nature has been playing tricks on us this past week. One day the temps are near 80; the next day we plunge to 20 degrees.

Living in Indiana, we should be accustomed to this behavior from Mother Nature. Spring is my favorite season. The earth bursts awake with such energy she spurs me to go rambling.

I want to see what is happening in the gullies, along the cliffs and in the fields. My eyes scan the skies for returning birds. My eyes search the ground for tiny shoots of green emerging from the damp ground.

I was not disappointed with my short hike along trail 9 at the park. Tiny heart-shaped leaves of violets grew beside the moss. The moss is the greenest thing in the forest now.

The new growth is a bright green. The ferns are lush with new shoots. Those dreaded multiflora roses created a mist of green throughout the forest.

Some of the trees showed swollen buds; they are about to don their green gowns. I didn't see many birds, but I did hear the call of a bird I could not identify. It was hiding in the top of one of the tall trees. I think the bird was a bit upset that I was invading its territory.

The park was full of families the day I visited. Several schools were on Spring Break. The sound of children filled the air near the playgrounds.

The parking lot by the Nature Center was full. This made me very happy. I believe children need to spend time in the natural world. They need unscheduled time to just 'be,' without a screen to occupy them. Adults need that too, in my opinion.

April is the time to celebrate Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated in the U.S. in 1970. The idea caught on. Now 192 countries celebrate Earth Day. The idea is to encourage everyone to help create a healthy, sustainable environment.

If you are looking for something to do in April, the Friends of McCormick's Creek State Park has organized Wildflower Weekend April 10-12. The event offers several activities and guided hikes in the park and one at each of the following: MYPath, Cataract Falls, Green's Bluff and the Owen-Putnam State Forest.

There is a Native Plant Sale planned for Saturday, April 11. More information can be found on the Friends' Facebook page. I haven't decided which hike I am doing. I'd like to do them all, but these old knees would protest.

See you on the trail!