My next-door neighbor, the Mountain, has been wrestling with the weather the past few weeks. He revels in the season of hibernation just like a sleeping bear who hates being roused from his sleep. I have watched as he has slowly pulled a quilt of green from his foot to his head, like a blanket crunched up under his chin. He has been tossing and turning like a groggy child, until only his last bit of brown spiky hair poked out the top. I noticed today that he has finally given in to the spring and is fully awake again.

His quilt is a spectacular design; so many greens in random patches. There is no rhyme or reason to the pattern, which is what makes it so beautiful. Forest, fern, mint, balsamic, spruce, pine, asparagus, palm, sage, willow, kelly…all the greens and then some! Each year it is like the trees rework their covering in an effort to wake him gently…a surprise attack of sorts. They wave their arms in the last wild winds of winter, dancing fitfully, until one day all their varying shades of green shimmer in the sunlight creating an almost iridescent quality, all the way to the top. Before that, they sneak the quilt up his sides allowing him the last few nods of sleep before he once again stands steadfast.

Today the birds are all singing his praise and the trees are bowing their heads to his majesty. The green upon his brow has spoken that it is safe to plant and that the season of hibernation is officially over for another year. The vivid patchwork of greens goes all the way up to the top of my mountain neighbor’s peak to meet the cobalt sky. A curtain of green surrounds my writing porch and I feel I am among my friends the trees once again. All of us, outside in the warm sunshine with a slightly cool, but gentle, breeze. I am so glad my neighbor is finally all the way awake. It is spring and it is beautiful.