At the Amtrak station - Charlottesville, Virginia 

Spring is not easy.

One day the air is warm and sunshine calls us outdoors. Only the brown grass and bare trees remind us that it is not summer. Another day, a cold and damp wind blows in from the north and the sky is leaden with thick gray clouds. It looks like it might snow. The yellow blossoms on the forsythia shivering in the cold are the only reminder that we are not still in deep winter.

Transitions are often difficult, but spring will triumph. Frogs will awaken and sing; the mockingbird will flash his wing-bars and go courting; the sound of lawn mowers and the smell of wild onions will fill the air. The outline of the mountains will be softened by the new leaves, and ants will invade the kitchen. It happens like this every year, but it can be touch and go for a while in March when spring grapples with winter.

Tonight, a cold rain is falling. We will see what tomorrow brings.