Spring lightly and with thanks into spring -- wherever you are on the planet

Cookie loves the jacaranda which flourishes in San Diego's Mediterranean climate, and in Barcelona,
one of Cookie's favorite cities. Spring in San Diego is much different than a Northern Rockies spring.

TOAST SPRING WITH A NOD TO NATURE AND A THANKFUL HEART

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ― Mark Twain
STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS
PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

Kate Sessions Park is 
at its loveliest in springtime.

IS THERE A more hopeful time of year than spring?
 -- wherever on the planet you are.

Whether you're strolling the streets of Rome, sailing San Diego Bay or planting the garden in Nye, Montana, spring is the time for optimism. Colors seem more vivid.  Scents seem more intense (in my beloved Montana, a cousin just wrote "it's beautiful now that it's May, after much needed snow, sleet and rain.") In Montana, we don't care what form the moisture takes. It makes the earth smell rich and loamy.  The wild roses and dogwood are blooming and the sage, peony and daisies are leafing out.) The long pre-solstice days mean light until nearly 10 p.m. in the northern Rockies! Always lovely San Diego has a spring luster despite the drought.

Spring run-off  is a glorious sight in Woodbine Falls near Nye, Montana.

I'VE SPENT spring in Texas hill country, wildflowers up to my middle.  I've lolled about in the Greek Isles, exploring the ruins in Delos and sipping wine in Santorini. I've had spring in October, prowling the rain forest in northeast Australia (their spring comes during our autumn), and I've "sprung into spring" sailing the swells of the Irish sea with loved ones.
LATELY, I've been tilting pleasantly upward, staring with delight to admire the wild lavender blossoms of San Diego's signature jacarandas. Thousands of these trees are in their glory in early May. A picnic in Kate Sessions Park is a perfect afternoon's end. This dog-friendly, welcoming park is a popular recreation area boasting sweeping hillside views of the bay, plus sports fields and a fine playground. Back home, our favorite yellow orchid is blooming!
'Lilian's Last Dance' readings move to the Rockies, click here

Filling the bird feeders is a spring ritual
on the first week of Cookie's return to Montana, after a skiff of snow.

IN MONTANA, where I try to spend part of May (for the lilacs!), spring is a glorious time of year. Streams, rivers and waterfalls are running and the Big Sky will soon be buzzing with hummingbirds, who'll zip about as I fertilize dozens of bedding plants. First, however, comes the obligatory May snow storm. (We had that the day we arrived, May 6.)
By June, I'll be feeding three varieties of the magnificent and ever-thirsty tiny hummer: the rufus (largest and most aggressive), the ruby-throated (with its glorious crimson scarf) and the caliope (the smallest bird on the hemisphere). "I'll be right back," I tell them. "Stick around." I TAKE a quick trip inside to cook up a batch of nectar (four parts water, one part sugar, boiled for four minutes).

Spring blooms herald the coming of the season in San Diego,
where our orchids are coming alive with blossoms.

I LIKE TO think the hummers I see in Montana are the same ones I feed in winter in San Diego. Perhaps they take a ride on a northbound goose's tail, because they're always buzzing about, waiting. They follow me to the aspen tree where one of the feeders -- the most popular -- has hung a decade. Filling these and a dozen bird feeders takes a couple hours.
Already a week into May, we have customers:  chickadees, finches, woodpeckers and buntings so far.

 "Cap'n Keller'' sails
 out of San Diego Bay.

Spring came earlier in San Diego, and sailing was divine on our last day. In Montana, where winters are long and harsh and the ground is snow-covered for months, spring is proof that winter is not endless.

 Rome's fruit and flower stands
 herald spring and lure shoppers.

Whether you're sailing, planting, hiking, biking, jogging, touring or just plain savoring the season of rebirth, enjoy your spring and remember to explore, learn and live!

Camels greet us at a lively rare animal farm near Yuma, Arizona

COMING UP: Mid-day at the Oasis! We'll take you to a camel farm on the Arizona
desert south of Yuma, then have a look at exotic birds in our two favorite states -- Montana and California -- and we'll preview the new San Diego Repertory season. It's cutting edge.
Don't miss 'UNCANNY VALLEY' at San Diego Rep, click here
Plus we'll give advice on making the most of precious time in Europe. And we'll share tips on traveling with pets. All at "where is Cookie." Remember to explore, learn and live!
Our posts appear Wednesdays and Saturdays at
www.whereiscookie.com