Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Spring is a Declaration (by Linda Yezak)

Spring has sprung! Or at least it's trying its level best around these parts. To welcome it in, Linda Yezak sent me a guest post on that very subject. (You may remember Linda's interview with Billy Coffey last week over at Author Culture.)



Linda Yezak lives in Texas and writes romantic comedy. Her novel, Give the Lady a Ride has attracted some attention and is now on an agent's desk, awaiting its fate. Linda teaches an adult creative writing class, serves as a free-lance editor, and is an editor for Port Yonder Press.


photo by Beckey Z

Right now, as I write this, I can look outside the patio windows and witness nature's celebration of spring. The squirrels are engaged in a chase and the ducks in a dance that always results in new life within weeks of the festivities. Birds sing sweet love songs, flowers arc their necks toward the sun's caress, weeds push through the cracks in the concrete or bloom white as powdered sugar in the field.


photo by Beckey Z

After one of the most unusual winters Texas has ever had, this display of warm weather activities seems almost a miracle. In a part of the state that rarely sees snow, we got it three times. At one point, the pond froze over so badly our senior male Muscovy duck, “Drake,” got frustrated trying to get out of it. And today, he's actively engaged in creating a brood of new ducklings as if the past icy experience never happened.


photo by Beckey Z

That's the glory of spring. It's the great eraser, the instant defroster, the immediate heart-warmer. Early spring comes wrapped in a bright green promise of awakening life, of crops in the soil and blooms on the peach trees. Of foals and calves, chicks and ducklings, fawns and 'coon kittens. Spring revitalizes the soul and quickens the spirit of all of us who huddled in wool coats and plodded through the sodden, sullen days of winter.


photo by Beckey Z

Spring is God's declaration that He still loves us. Of all the ways He shows His love, the return of life, beauty and color after the winter's gray hues and bare tree limbs will always be one of my favorites. He showed us the depth of His love when He allowed His Son to be sacrificed for us. He showed us the power of His love through His Son's resurrection. He shows us the continuation of His love through the annual arrival of spring.


photo by Beckey Z

The Declaration of Love, signed by God's own hand with vivid colors, and celebrated by His creation with music and dancing and birth and life. How can we not love Him in return?

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To read more from Linda, please visit her at her blog 777 Peppermint Place. She also created and contributes to Author Culture, and Port Yonder Press. You can follow her on twitter, too: @pprmint777.

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A very special thanks to Beckey Zimmerman of Zimmages for all the beautiful photographs in this post. She's an amazing photographer. You should check out some of her other work!

22 comments:

BeckeyZ said...

What an honor, and such a lovely post! Thanks Katdish.

Candy said...

"Spring is God's declaration that He still loves us." What glorious words and photos. Thank you.

Sandra Heska King said...

Oh, Linda! What wonderful images and words.

"Drake" captured my attention. Spring eventually comes to melt the ice of life. This, too, shall pass.

♥ Kathy said...

What a great message and you're right, the photos are awesome!

Maureen said...

How nice to find this lovely post by Linda. Beautiful photos, too. In D.C., the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin are beginning to bloom. To see all those masses of blooms is a thrill.

jasonS said...

This is a beautiful post. That said, I have to admit I was a little distracted by part of it. Two words: duck sex (yeah, I'm 12 years old). :)

Great post though.

Anonymous said...

Thank you everyone for the kind words. I'm so glad you liked my post.

Katdish, thanks for having me. I love what you did with it--great pictures!

Special note for Jason: The ducks have been highly active so far this spring. Within eight weeks, I expect to see all three females leading their broods to the corn bowl in our backyard!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos and thoughts. Thank you, Linda and Kathy.

Jason, you're as bad as my son!

Sandra Heska King said...

Jason, you would have loved watching the two possums at the base of our big picture window last spring . . .

Marni said...

Where's Sherri? She needs to chime in on squirrel sex...

Great post!

jasonS said...

Sandra, I don't know if "loved to see" would be the right words, although possums are known as exceedingly beautiful and graceful creatures. :)

Ginny (MAD21) said...

Great post and pictures!

Jason.... hahahahaha!!

Billy Coffey said...

I gotta say I'm with Jason. I had to read that twice. At least.

Thanks for this post, Linda. Loved it and the pictures. And yay spring!

katdish said...

Shaking my head in disapproval...

jasonS said...

And what are disapproving of, Ms. Katdish? Please share it with us... :)

Marni said...

Yeah, what Jason said about possums.

Every time one gets on our back deck and our dumb Boxer, Howie, catpures it and flips it in the air and then catches it over and over and over, I think, "wow, that half dead animal is exceedingly beautiful and graceful".

katdish said...

All this talk of duck sex. However, the part about Drake being stuck in the frozen pond did make me think of the Seinfeld episode where George shouts, "I WAS IN THE POOL!"

Kathleen Overby said...

twitterpating

Daffy Duck said...

I was told I could read about Duck sex here... What, no pictures?

Huey, Dewey, and Louey said...

What Daffy said...

Dang... you just can't find any quality sites by googling "Duck Sex" anymore...

Helen said...

Yes. I see what you mean. Spring is confirmation that God loves us. But I have to admit, winter feels like He is asking that we "just be friends..." sometimes...

Anonymous said...

Okay, so now I'm gonna be famous for discussing duck sex in a religious post.

But hey, as long as ya spell my name right, I'm good with it.

Can this get any funnier?!