the woods would be very silent...

"Use what talents you posess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." -Henry Van Dyke

Blue skies! Ah, what they are capable of in the heart of winter. While warming the fields and melting ice from branches, it also thaws the very souls of every living being under it. The birds sang songs of spring, although spring is far away. But the sunshine seemed to lift their spirits, and renew their faith in the coming of spring. The ice on the creek has cracked, the water runs black; everything is wet with thaw. Even though reason tells me that winter is not over, and that it will be cold again soon enough, I let myself be wrapped in sunshine, romanced by the warm rays on my face. I even thought I smelled spring flowers in the air, but this can't be true. The wild daphne doesn't bloom until late February, and violets and cowslips come in late March or April. But the mind can play tricks on you. Here I was, in January, my ears filled with bird song and the laughing of the creek water running freely once more; and even though this weather is fleeting, it strengthened and envigorated me, and gave my heart and even my bones fresh life.