CAROLINE'S CORNER: HAS SPRING REALLY COME?

The big question of the week for me is, "Is spring really here to stay or is Mother Nature planning her annual frosty surprise for us?" Just when we get our winter clothes stored away and that last bit of sand swept out of the garage, along come frosty nights and freezing days to shock us back into the reality that Mama Nature is really in charge and we had better remember that.

It feels like spring. Temperatures have been in the 70s for days.

The calendar says it is spring. Who other than Mama Nature can argue with the calendar?

It looks like spring. Early flowers are bustin' out all over.

Hyacinths are a harbinger of spring. The single spikes are one of the first flowers to stick their heads out of the ground. Greek mythology has it that the hyacinth was named after Hyacinthus, a beautiful youth loved but accidentally killed by Apollo, from whose blood Apollo caused the hyacinth to grow. The vivid violet hues are a wonder to behold.

The bell-shaped yellow flowers of the forsythia are showing their glorious gowns. Will there be frost on the forsythia tomorrow morning?

Daffodils are peeking their sunshine-yellow heads toward the sky. Old home places in the countryside can be identified by the plots of golden daffodils that some gardener once lovingly tended.

Trees are even springing into the act. Bradford pear and peach trees are flaunting their pink and white blossoms.

The neighbors think spring has sprung. After a long hibernation from swing-time, Mack and Hattie are sittin' and swingin'. Mack has begun his spring chore of digging dandelions. Assuming that frost will hamper their growth, I am waiting to dig the pesky plants in my yard.

Two weeks ago, when this supposed spring began, Boulware and I made a wager. He said spring was here to stay, and I said,"Uh uh." I know how fickle my favorite season can be.

The man must have never heard of blackberry winter, the time near Easter when we slide back into our wool socks and sweaters.

The meteorologist, who is predicting snow in a few days, says I know more than Boulware about winter.

I say go for the sunshine now. Seize the day. Carpe diem. Smell the hyacinths before Jack Frost bites them. Forget your hang-ups and revel in the warmth, for the ice may come again.

Poet Emily Dickinson said, "A little madness in the spring is wholesome even for the king."

Tiptoe through the tulips today, because tomorrow you may be sliding through the snow.