Ahhhhh. . . . the first day of spring!  The sun shining, birds singing, and flowers beginning to bloom!  After the long hard winter we’ve had, this feels like a little bit of heaven here in our part of the world.

As I puttered in my yard today, I even wore my little red strappy flip-flops!  Why?  Just because I can!

This beautiful day brought back so many memories of when I was a child, and of how I would beg Mama to please let me wear my flip-flops on the first warm day of spring.  Some years, spring came later than others and we’d have to wait til the middle of April or the first of May to put our shorts and flip-flops on.  But today. . . . ahhhhh today, it was just a flip-flop kind of day.

Digging in my straw bales, making nice holes to pour in a little dirt and gently bury a few plants felt as natural to me as a frog sitting on a lily pad.

At one point, I glanced over toward where the Jonquils and Daffodils were smiling and nodding their heads, in time to the gentle breeze; what did I see but a beautiful blue and black butterfly looking back at me!  You can imagine my joy as I settled back on my heels for a tiny moment and savored the sight.

I knew right then, if the butterflies are here already, it is for sure and certain a flip-flop kind of day!

Watching the flutter of her wings, I wondered from whence she came.  Surely, she had left the islands days or even weeks ago to have gotten here, to the top of our little mountain, by the very first day of spring!  I worried that she might not find enough nectar with the few flowers that are out, but lo and behold, she flitted from one buttery yellow flower to the next and seemed as happy as a lark.

As I wiggled my toes, and sat back in my big old white chair for a minute or two, I soaked up the sun like a sea sponge soaks up the ocean.  The very fact that spring has finally come to the mountains makes me want to shout!

Suddenly there was a raucous noise from the treetops above.  Whatever on earth, thought I?  Lo and behold, there were at least five young yellow belly sapsucker males all vying for the same female!  What a dance she led them boys on!  She flew here, flitted there, and literally did somersaults in mid air!

Now, I couldn’t swear which of them young fella’s wound up the winner, but after a while, things settled down, and there was only a soft crooning coming from the top of the old dead oak tree out back.  I’m thinking we may be having some brand new baby woodpeckers a few weeks from now!

Yes, sir, it was a flip-flop and butterfly kind of day ~ this first day of spring.

I sure hope we have a few more of these before the scorch of summer comes barreling in!