On these April days, I slip on my walking shoes and head outside, skipping across my stone-paved walkway, eager to discover what’s blooming in my neighborhood. I lift my arms overhead in a gentle stretch as I make my way down the driveway and out onto our street loop. Ahh… the warmth of sunshine, blue skies, and temperatures no longer biting with cold. Spring has truly sprung.

With a lightness in my step, I wander my path, searching each day for new colors. Whites, yellows, pinks, pale lavender, orange, fuchsia, deep purple- greens in every imaginable shade.

Here in Pennsylvania, we are so fortunate. Our four seasons uplift us, each one carrying us into a new landscape of feeling and memory. From winter bells and hellebore to daffodils, tulips, cherry blossoms, magnificent magnolias, and the fleeting brilliance of Japanese quince, elegant redbuds and dogwoods, I am continually moved by this awakening—the slow emergence, then joyful explosion, of color. Azaleas and alliums are beginning their show, and soon the rhododendrons will follow. It’s no wonder spring is my favorite season.

In my soon 65 years, I’ve lived through 260 seasons- what a thought. How many did I rush past as a child, or overlook in my younger years? Now, I pause along my path, greeting familiar plants like old friends, offering quiet admiration for their return. Old growth, new growth allows me to appreciate stability and age and the tenderness of youth, carrying renewed hope.  Their blooms are fleeting, ever-changing, and that impermanence draws me deeper into the present moment. Time outdoors, connected to nature, feels more precious than ever.

Halfway through my twenty-minute walk, I pass beneath the cherry tree–lined entrance to our neighborhood. Just days ago, I stood in awe beneath their full, radiant bloom. Then came the rain, and with it, a soft cascade of petals drifting down like pink confetti. Today, I walk across that delicate carpet, strutting and laughing playfully like a fashion model, delighting in the moment—alone, yet completely accompanied by beauty. 

Alexa Fong Drubay 4/24/2026