lily of the valley

OK, here comes my second annual "I miss spring" rant. Now people who live in Chicago might be really mad at me right now since I understand it just got cold again, and how can I complain when I spent most of yesterday at the beach?? But I will anyway :) I will repeat: without winter, there is no spring. And there is nothing, NOTHING, like spring in the north. As in Chicago or Connecticut, the two places I've lived in the north. When I moved to Houston, I sorely missed the seasons in Connecticut. Which, even though I'm surely biased since I was born there, is a truly beautiful state, all four seasons. So when I got to Chicago, I was so happy to have seasons again!! Despite the fact that Chicago winters are far windier, quite a bit colder, and far less snowy than CT winters (in CT, it starts snowing in December and you pretty much don't see the ground again til March). Oh, and Midwestern autumns have nothing on New England autumns. But I didn't care about that so much. Once spring arrived, it was like greeting long-lost childhood friends: crocus, daffodil, tulip, lily of the valley, crab apple trees, into summer's bleeding hearts, iris, roses, etc. etc. etc. The way one day all of the sudden the trees have a little green on them. And the way that green gradually grows and deepens from a bright, vibrant green to a darker, lusher green. The way the air smells. The spring rainstorms. Everything seems so visceral and ALIVE. I miss it still, a lot. And those of you who are there, enjoy it for me, please. I will in the meantime frequent the beach as often as possible to quell my pain :) And I will enjoy the various tropical plants and exotic roses found here, which are admittedly beautiful, but I would take my lily of the valley any day.