Tuesday
Mar292011
Sparrows are chirping, cherry trees are blooming
March 29, 2011 * * * * * Posted by: Silvia 
It's Spring outside - ©Silvia Ganora PhotographyI'm a Spring girl. I was born in Spring, on April 11th (Yes - I'll be turning 48 next month, oh my!) and always had a special bond to this time of the year. If you ask me, it should be Spring all year round! Love the not so cold and not too hot weather and the longer days with the sun setting late in the evening.
I rejoice at every little sign telling me Spring is coming. It starts with the sparrows gathering and chirping on the big plants on someone’s terrace, right in front of my balcony. They chitter so loudly and cheerfully I can hear them from my studio located on the other side of the apartment. Then, on an other balcony in the same sparrow’s condo, there comes out a gorgeous white kitty. He sits in the warmer sun, sticking his head out of the balcony railing, and stares for hours at the sparrows one floor below him.
Then there are the cherry trees. I can spot them on the mountains outside my window. They bloom one after the other, but timidly. Two near a house; another one, all alone, in the wood. I love those white bursts of fluffiness in the still wintry bareness of the surrounding trees. It’s like two opposite forces facing each other, in an awkward and fleeting moment of balance, before Winter’s total defeat.
Right after the cherry trees, there will be the yellow brooms and occasional green patches of grass in the meadows. Then, all of a sudden, the bigger trees, too, will have a new dress made of tender, green leaves.
In this time of the year, I feel quite restless too. I long for sunny days just to be able to go out for a walk or take the car and go to Lake Maggiore, about thirty kilometers from here, with its Borromean Islands and Isola Madre in particular, with its beautiful gardens...
Do you feel the way I do? Do you have a particular place you like to visit in Spring? Let us know! In the meantime, let me wish you a wonderful Spring with a poem by Italian poet Salvatore Quasimodo:
MIRROR
And suddenly on the trunk
buds break open:
a green newer than the grass
which soothes the heart:
the trunk already seemed dead,
bent on the ravine.
And everything seems like a miracle;
and I’m that rainwater
that today reflects in the ditches
a deeper blue its piece of sky,
that green that splits the crust
which even last night wasn’t there.
Reader Comments (12)
What a lovely welcome to spring! Yes - me too - I feel restless with the sunshine and warmth and new growth. Sounds absolutely beautiful where you are - up in the mountains of northern Italy. Love how you've processed/created this dreamy image!
What a great image today, with the window frame, very nice work indeed. and as for the story, I loved to read it, we all welcome spring with open arms, after a long winter, it brings a smile to my face.
Yesterday I started out on a walk around our citadel with my winter coat and gloves on, Sil, but ended up with both off, with my coat tied around my waist. It's that time of the year...not too hot and not too cold. And more blue skies than I can remember in a long time! I love how you've painted it in image and words before our very eyes.
the poem is just beautiful. like your photo...a gentle reminder of hope that wasn't there yesterday but sings us into today. lovely post.
beautiful post and i had to smile. lately everyone is obsessed with spring, winter is on the way out and spring is taking her time getting off the bus. happy birthday.
Absolutely beautiful photograph! Great post to start the day!
Happy happy birthday! It must be nice to have a spring birthday. Instead of feeling old every year, you must be filled with the promise of newness.
We have peeks at blue skies every now and then. The daffodils are in bloom and the tulips are poking out of the ground. The days are warmer and punctuated with nourishing rain. Spring is becoming my favorite season.
love that picture! Beautiful poem, thanks for sharing!
This is soooo beautiful Silvia! I love the image and the picture you painted with your words that tumbled right into that gorgeous poem. And since it just happens to be snowing again here at this moment, it was just what I needed.
Sivlia, this is written so beautifully and I love your photo! Yes, I also feel the restlessness - my fingers start itching, watching to dig in the soil and tend to the garden. We're having warm days at the moment and I set up the hammock - I will take my nap there today! I love to be outside as much as possible.
I know my neighbors think I am crazy. I just went outside in my pajamas to photograph buds on the trees and a dandelion in the grass. That's how anxious I am for SPRING! It's slowly but surely getting here...and I am so grateful. Lovely image and post.