Watch For It, It’s Coming!

They’re here! We saw them yesterday, strutting around, red breast puffed out, looking for worms. They fluttered from branch to bare branch on the trees. Y’all know who I’m talking about, don’t you? They were American Robins. Turdus migratorius. My favorite bird in the whole wide world!

I know, I know, there are lots of birds out there in the wide world. Why the Robin? Because, when I see Robin I know that Spring, glorious Spring is just around the corner. For me, winter is the death season. Trees are barren and skeletal. Grass withers, turns brown, and crunches under my feet. Flowers are a distant memory. The Robin signifies hope.

Sometime around Thanksgiving I begin counting the days until Spring rises from the frigid ashes of winter to spread warmth and color in the world. I, and my friend Tim Childers, begin counting the days until we “spring forward” again; another sure sign that spring is coming.

bhelas.co.uk-pic Soon, my nostrils will be tantalized by the rich aroma of fertile soil as we plant basil and mint, and maybe some rosemary and chives. I’ll smile each time I pass the window to see them reaching up for the warming rays of Spring sunlight. My mind will wander to the recipe book, fantasizing about the dishes our herbs will bless.

Summer and early Autumn make me happy, but Spring…? Spring makes me delirious!

I recently read a lovely tale related to Spring. It seems the phoenix was given her legendary gift of immortality because she refused to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Every 500 years the phoenix builds a nest of herbs and spices. She sits on it and bursts into flames. When the fire dies down, her egg, found in the ashes hatches and the phoenix is resurrected. Grand story, isn’t it? Spring is all about resurrection.

NewYesterdays Soon, the days will be warm enough to visit the park, lie on the ground, and read a good book surrounded by like-minded people enjoying the bounteous gifts of Mother Nature. Get ready for spring with a copy of New Yesterdays. I can promise you’ll enjoy the season even more!

And, following the tradition established by my good friend and fellow scribe, Seumas Gallacher, I invite you to visit the blogs of some of my friends. Be sure to leave them a comment to let them know you came by.

They’ll appreciate the visit and you’ll love what you find there!

About Ol' Big Jim

Ol' Big Jim, has been a storekeeper, an embalmer, a hospital orderly, a medical biller, and through it all, a teller of tall tales. Many of his stories, like his first book, New Yesterdays, are set in his hometown of Piedmont, Alabama. For seven years, he lived in the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, Amman, Jordan where he spends his time trying to visit each one of the thousands of Ammani coffee shops and scribbling in his ever-present notebook. These days, you can find him back stateside, still filling notebooks.

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