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Spring is a beautiful time to be alive. The birds are chirping, and early bloomers are showing their colors. The forsythia bushes are blooming, the marigolds are blooming on some lawns, and the dandelions, which are alive all seasons, are sporting blooms.

This week, as I was reading a column by Fred Behrend, former STAR editor, who knew flowers and birds like the back of his hand, I read that, in addition to their symbolic and medical significance, spring flowers are also an important source of food for many species of insects and birds. The blooming of spring flowers marks the start of the growing season, providing much-needed sustenance for many species that have had a long winter.

Baltimore orioles and American robins are among the first to herald the arrival of spring, although there are, of course, many robins that have been resident all year long, awaiting the return of their cousins.

Spring is the best of all the seasons. In the poem [in Just-] by E.E. Cummings, he describes spring as “puddle-wonderful,” as there’s a lot of mud and lots of puddles around in the spring because of the weather and spring showers. However, we are mindful that it doesn’t always rain more in spring, but sometimes it rains more often. The first day of spring doesn’t always happen on the same day each year. That’s because spring begins on the date between winter and summer when the day and the night are almost the same length. That day is called the spring equinox, and it happens between March 19 and March 21 each year.

Have you noticed that smells are strong in the spring? There are so many scents in the air—new flowers, cut grass, and the rich smell of earth, just to name a few. But did you know that the weather helps you smell things more strongly? In the spring, there’s more moisture in the atmosphere. The extra moisture not only helps keep scents in the air longer, but it also makes it easier for you to smell them. That’s what scientists say, and people like Freddy Behrend took note of such things.

However, the return of migrating birds and butterflies is among the earliest signs of spring, but weather also affects their migration. Several species of birds have been spotted in Elizabethton neighborhoods—not many butterflies yet.

Spring is an amazing time of year. The snow has melted, days get warmer and longer, plants start to grow, and animals wake up or return from their winter vacations. All of it is connected to weather in different ways. Keeping track of weather data is one way to understand what’s happening in the world around us.

And if that is not enough, Farm Supply downtown has begun to put its spring plants out for sale, as well as bags of potatoes for planting.

But take notice that nature around you is changing, and you will know that spring is at our door, knocking.