““…springtime, the only pretty ring time.
When birds do sing, Hey ding a-ding, ding.
Sweet lovers love the spring.”
William Shakespeare, As You like It: Act V Scene III
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While I do not mean to overlook ol’ Billy, I must admit that the author of these lines, nor the play it originates from, is the image that enters my mind when I recall these words. Instead, I think of a 1971 Gene Wilder, riding an exercise bike in the middle of his chocolate factory, singing these words as a light jingle, which was an obscure, yet I’m sure very necessary, part of the Wonka recipe. Growing up, my father’s magic shows and impromptu “Help me make a cookie appear” moments were the first introduction to magic that I can remember, on top of classic movies such as the Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka… or so I thought. Mr. Wonka’s jingle often gets stuck in my head, and the other day I realized “My dad and Wonka were not the first experiences I had with magic, it was springtime!”
Spring perhaps is the most exciting time for someone in the natural science field. Often times it’s easy to have a scientific explanation for everything, but this season, it’s hard to deny the pure magic that stems from the roots that have been hiding beneath the frost line since October. All winter, the LRCC has played out on the ice, romped through the snow and ice capped mountains, and braved snow removal through the chilling winds that feels like it may bite your fingertips clean off. It was fun at first, but by February we all felt tired, deficient of vitamin D, and an awful gloominess was always present in the backs of our minds that got harder and harder to drag along as the weeks got colder. The slightest wildlife activity or winter thriving plants felt like a warm glow in the dreariest parts of winter. At times I felt the only happy moments were when we saw far away glimpses of an otter contentedly munching fish on our frozen cove. While snow is another type of magic, when the air is still whipping and the skies grey for 6 months straight, it takes both a mental and physical toll. We dreamt of wading through vernal pools looking for amphibians, watching birds carefully construct their nests, and fish rushing upstream to breed. The sight of a flying insect almost made you wish it was a mosquito, because that surely meant warm weather was upon us. The sheer desire to allow your skin to be exposed to the thin rays of sun poking through the atmosphere was overwhelming as we trodded into March and April. But finally, we are here.
Springtime. The air may still match your refrigerator at times, but the sun is out, and so is the wildlife. We all feel confined right now, and in that sense it is as if winter is still with us. While I still scream out the window whenever we get a cold, cloudy day with flurries, the Sun always seems to relieve me just in time, gently kissing my cold-induced goosebumps goodbye. Nature is just beginning to stretch Her legs, welcoming us into Her playground to watch the magnificent rebirth that lies mere weeks ahead. This year, most of us will likely experience parts of spring we have never noticed, or bothered to notice, before. Coming from someone who used to spend the entire spring wishing for summer, I can tell you with confidence: slow down, and you will see this aforementioned pure magic before your eyes. While I hold the quote “We’re ALL science people,” by Ali Ward, to be true, I’ll say in the vernacular sense that you do not have to be a “science person” to appreciate this wondrous transition. Lovers, artists, laborers, and scientists alike can all find the magic in spring, no matter where you live.
The rainy season can seem just as dreary as winter in the beginning, bringing nothing but mud, winds that make it too strong to paddle on the newly iced out lakes, and overcast that seems to last for weeks at time. The first sighting of a turkey vulture made me yell for joy out of my car while driving through downtown Plymouth in the middle of March. Seeing muskrats and beavers emerge from their warm dens to swim in the cove makes me anticipate post-work cool downs in the lake. But one of the most exciting changes, I think for all of us, will be when our stripped trees and bushes are green again. Most of the trees in your area are likely showing off their premature buds, Forsythia bushes are blooming, ferns are poking through the leaf litter, and dandelions are fighting their way through sidewalk cracks. It seems like an impossible wait, a taunt even, before we are overwhelmed by a lush wave of life we seem to never appreciate enough. Be patient. Do not miss all that leads up to the peak of spring, because it is there where you will find the magic that fills your body with relief and hope. It is there that you gain a greater understanding of why most good things in life take time. We have all been forced to slow down tremendously and regardless of whether or not you find a hidden blessing in these circumstances, you must admit that it’s giving us a marvelous opportunity to go out and truly experience spring. Soon, you may understand why it’s the best time of the year for conservationists and other field scientists. You may understand why Mr. Wonka would choose to sing a little ditty about springtime; perhaps it’s what makes his treats so magical. Watching spring happen from beginning to end, observing both plants and animals, is one of the most magical experiences I have encountered so far in my young life, and makes me more thankful than ever that I was born on our marvelous Planet Earth. The science has always been there, but this year I challenge each of you to find the magic and watch it work wonders; it will leave you wondering how you never noticed all of this before and how you will never be able to overlook the power and wonder of the natural world again.
Maggy is a full-year member at the Squam Lakes Association. You can usually finding her hovering over her sprouts, hunting for amphibians, and getting outside every chance she can You can read more about Maggy here!