Smoldering Spring Morning

I woke this morning to a brilliant purple/orange sunrise breaking through my window. The sun, which has been absent these past few gray weeks, had returned and, for me, marked the beginning of spring in words sufficiently clear though silent.

The Robins and Mockingbirds sang as we got the kids ready for school, and our kittens stared out the window and "barked" at the birds. Not being a cat person, I don't know if this is normal behavior, but our two kittens both make a chirping/barking sort of noise as they look longingly towards birds fluttering about outside.

Maybe we just have weird cats.

Donna had to make an early-morning run to the homeless shelter where she works and, upon returning and entering the back door, she pointed out to me that our garden fence was smoking with beautiful wisps of steam rising from its thoroughly soaked innards. It spoke to me of a changing season, of a new day.

Coming on the heels of such a dark year, a new day sounds promising.