Spring Adventures

Minnesota, Between Seasons

By Ceasar Ortega

The best part of anything worth waiting for is, in my opinion, the anticipation that comes before the big event. In the weeks of waning winter between March and May it is hard not to feel everything beginning to wake up; the sky opening up with the first spring rain that cuts through the snow and hits your skin like pinpricks of electric light, the first signs of green emerging from blankets of white, and the thick woody aromas that cut through the haze of crisp cold air. Nothing feels as long sometimes as Minnesota between seasons but I can feel Spring coming again!

Keep an eye out for spring babies like this adorable fox.

I’m already imagining everything that comes ahead: hot summer nights under the stars, letting my arms and legs kick and pull me through lakes, mud between my toes, being out on my friend’s pontoon as we wait for fish to bite while we talk about nothing, and everything, floating above the still waters of perfect silence. I’ve already set my plans and I eagerly wait for the sun to hit my face with full warmth and to feel the rush of the still chilled waters envelope me as I dive headlong into them once again. I will try new things this summer, go on more adventures that take me past where I have been before, and I’ll keep each experience in my pocket.

 

Then, before I even realize it has happened, I’ll find myself yearning for the Autumn and the Winter that follows.

Eaglets are visible in nests.

The excitement grows with each turning leaf until the world is gold and red; mountains of vibrant living fire that swallow everything my eyes can reach. My thoughts return to the thrill of snow flying beneath me as I jet down slopes of fresh powdered snow. I remember all of the times that I’ve fallen and I know that this year will be different. I want again that feeling of wrapping myself in the warmth of a fire under a gently falling sky, the return of snowball fights on the porch, the crunch of ice as I venture onto the lake. I only caught one fish on the ice last year, this time I’ll catch five at least.

Swans and other water birds looking for open water.

And that is just how it goes, before you know it time has escaped and the seasons have changed; last year’s summer is behind us now. Everything changes in time, but with each change there is growth and the promise of new adventures, of raising the stakes, climbing higher, and swimming farther than you have before. Spring is almost here again and my plans are set; I hope to see you there!

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