I love winter, but snow in April is awful. Winter is essential for appreciating spring: it makes the warmth of spring that much sweeter. But once it’s warm, I like it to stay that way.

The new weather calls for new clothes. I end up wearing shorts and tank tops way too early in the season and being cold all the time, but it’s worth it. Even if the temperature hasn’t quite caught up with spring, my mentality has. However, being a woman, once the tank tops come out so do the cat calls. Spring and summer have the downside of me feeling uncomfortable to walk around on my own, but I’m not going to let it stop me from wearing what I want and doing all the spring activities I love.

As for spring activities, I love being able to spend more time outside again. Because of COVID, I did not spend much time inside this year, and the cold limited how much time I could spend outside. For example, coffee shops. This year I didn’t work inside any coffee shops, but there many months were it was too cold to be outside. With spring, I can go anytime I want! I’m also very lucky to not get spring allergies, so I can enjoy it and breathe normally.

Like all other seasons, spring is beautiful. I mark the beginning of spring as when the white dewdrop flowers start blooming, even if it doesn’t to get warm for another month. My yard is covered in flowers – both wild and planted – and flowering trees. This, unfortunately, leads to my car being covered in little white flower petals. Every time the wind blows the petals begin falling in a way that looks like a fairy tale. When it snowed on the week of April 19^th, it was difficult to tell the difference between flower petals and snow flakes.

In my yard there’s another flowering tree with pink buds. It engulfs the corner of my house when it’s in full bloom, but that only lasts a day or two before they fall, covering the ground below. A few years ago a painter – without out knowledge – sat across the street and painted the pink tree with the blue house behind it and the green grass below. The painting now resides in our living room but it was for sale in a restaurant in downtown Loveland for some time before we realized it was there. Unfortunately, the tree does not reach it’s peak every year. On the first warm day, flowers begin to poke out. If it freezes a few days later then all the flowers die and crumple to the ground. Sometimes spring gets warm and stays warm, but for the last few years the flowers have died instead. This year continues that trend.

I love each season, but I love them because of where they’re situated. I love a wet fall that turns into a snowy winter. I love a cold winter that turns into a warm spring. I love a rainy spring that turns into a clear summer. I love a hot summer that turns into a cool fall. With climate change, not only does each season look different, but the transition between each season is getting more and more confused. In our changing world, messed up seasons is one of the first things we notice. My hope for the future is that we can hold onto the traditional structure of seasons, but I know it will be a fight to protect what I love.