"The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

~ Excerpt from Philip Larkin’s “The Trees”

"Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire." 
-  Virgil

Fortunately, I waited to walk until after I wrote and sent my Aim For Astonishing weekly prompt, and so both my daughters were up and interested in walking when I was ready.

So, today, in the muddy, fresh, blue-skied woods, the warm woods, the heating up woods the wetlands overflowing woods, we walked, and suddenly, the youngest was singing her sweet winner’s song: she spotted the first lady slipper in the leaves, thrusting its green hips up out of the earth. Our ritual each May is to race each other to see who will see the first one. So, she wins! Now the race becomes, who will see the first lady slipper blossom. We are all very cheerful and we take the long way through Rocky Narrows and then the wetlands between the river and the swamp are overflowed and we must take shoes off and wade across the path which all of us think is fun. We talk and talk and talk. What a blessing this time is for me. One daughter works all day planting the garden. One mother vacuums room after room, makes a quiche, bakes chicken, loads and unloads dishwasher twice. How ecstatic we are with the hot sun beaming on the deck and the bluebird that lands on the Japanese maple and the spring peepers noisy, and the tiny tiny turtle, the baby, fresh from its very first winter hibernation is held for a few moments by the river in the afternoon. Summer weather visited today and we were entirely revived.