Spring Carpets of Blossoming Green

Nova Scotia in spring, like all seasons, there is always something special. Living off the Atlantic coast, we get to see dramatic and swiftly shifting skies, raging tempests and a new patchwork of nature's art every day. Spring is no exception.

While the winter harbours many novel sites and the gentle fall of snow can be comforting, nothing renders an uptick to the heart like the blossoms of spring on the trees, bushes and lawns of the city and countryside. The ancient and heavy oaks of the city's south end drape across the street, seem to burst with glee as they open their leaves.

The Queen Anne's Lace and Lilac trees seemingly chuckle as their leaves unfurl and the blossoms push up. Tulips wink from flower beds and the willows on the bend sway as if singing the coming of summer. Standing on a hilltop looking down Halifax harbour or driving across the bridge, one sees the multitude shades of green around the basin. The alders and saplings blush red with the warming of their veins.

Yes, spring in Nova Scotia, it's a heady mix.

The Sweet Treat of Spring

In the deep dark of February I'm like many Nova Scotians - take me down south for some green and beach time. And who doesn't deserve a little break from winter? Yet living in such tropical climates would mean sacrificing perhaps one of the best things about Nova Scotia - the ever changing seasons. Even perhaps, how you can have little morsels of other seasons in the middle of a season.

Like a day in mid-January when there is no snow and the sun shines warm and the day hints at the coming of spring. Our hearts leap a little and we bask in the warmth for a day or two. Or in high summer when a day cools down with an ocean breeze and you reach for a light sweater and suddenly your looking a little forward to autumn. To drives down to the Annapolis Valley along the Bay of Fundy as it blazes in colour.

As spring eases in we witness the splendour of new growth, flowers bursting with the little hiccups of crocus' winking of the summer to come. Tulips tease with their green tendrils before exploding in colour on front lawns as you whisk by houses in the city. Even for a brief week or two we smile at the dandelions - before we have to pluck them from our lawns.

But this is just another part of what makes Nova Scotia so special; the swiftly changing seasons, the atmospheric days and climatic synergies that roil across the year.

(Photo Credit: Baroing on Flickr)