Spring finally came to southern Minnesota on May 4. It was a sunny 61F.
On this day, The Greening began.
When I say The Greening, I refer to the phenomenon of the almost overnight greening of the grass, trees, and other plants in Minnesota. It happens so quickly that you can almost sit and watch it happen.
It’s a fabulous and free show. Five stars. Highly recommend.
The Greening is one of the few perks to the incredibly cold, sometimes snowy, and generally miserable winters we experience here. Spring may come late to the northern latitudes, but it bursts in when it arrives.
I don’t remember this happening so abruptly in Missouri. It seemed to happen more slowly. Gradually, until one day, you realized that the trees were fully leafed out and summer was here. In Minnesota, the trees and bushes seem to wait patiently, with their swelling buds, until the weather is just right. Then they explode with lush green foliage like an orgasm delayed.
I think this is because of the long winters and the way the seasons in Minnesota seem to hiccup along, skipping sections entirely or moving way ahead, only to take 2-steps back a week later. One day it is winter, the next, late spring. There are jokes up here about second, third, and fourth winters that are absolutely true. I have worn sandals and shorts one day only to don snow boots and a winter coat the next.
Like the trees, the humans in Minnesota also seem to come alive with the greening. They come out of hibernation, sweep the bones from their caves, and head to the nearest garden center to purchase all the flowers their budgets allow. (Most don’t know this is the standard operating procedure for spring in Minnesota. It was part of the manual I was provided when I moved here. You must agree to adhere to this procedure if you plan to live here. It’s the law.)
It is intriguing to watch this cycle occur every year. I literally feel when the switch to spring happens. Then I pull up a chair, pour myself a beverage, and watch the show.