Even When There’s Bad News Everywhere You Turn, Mother Nature Gives Us Reasons to Smile. Here are 5:

Happy Hump Day!

While it’s true that there are always bad things happening in the world and negativity all around us, it’s also true that there are things Mother Nature gives us that we can smile about.

On this first Wednesday in spring of 2022, I present to you, 5 reasons to smile:

The hummingbirds are on their way! If watching a hummingbird feeding at a flower or a feeder doesn’t bring a smile to your face, I don’t know what will. These tiny, yet amazing birds, add so much to our lives. Depending on where you live, they may have already arrived!! (Time to put out your feeders!) (Want to see some amazing hummingbirds from my trip to Ecuador? Check this out!)

2.Flowers, including those beloved spring ephemerals, are poking their small heads up out of the ground, pushing through the leaf litter to bestow us with their beauty for a few weeks before the trees leaf out. Seeing them again after a whole year is like seeing an old friend. How can that not make you smile? Which one is your favorite?

3.The morning air is filled with the songs of birds ready to settle in, mate, build nests and have babies. Their songs always seem so cheery, delighting those of us who make it a point to notice. It’s easy to step outside in the early dawn hours and marvel at all of the variety in bird song. Which is your favorite?

A singing red-winged blackbird at the marsh.

My favorite! A Carolina wren belting out a tune.

4. The cold temperatures and snowy days of winter are in retreat, replaced by warm, blue sky days that beg you to sit still like a cat, soaking in the sunshine and doing absolutely nothing. Luxuriously, and without guilt. The to-do lists can wait!

5. Daylight lasts into the evening hours, giving us the opportunity to do so much more with our time. We could take a walk after dinner, sit outside on the deck with friends, hike a new trail, go canoeing or kayaking, read a book on a lawn chair, sit beside a fire under a starry sky. The possibilities are endless! What will you do with your added hours of daylight?