Spring cheer-up

Goodbye winter! (Please go already)

Want to feel upbeat, let's anticipate the early spring flowers and blooms.

As you drive by a river or a lake, look for a Weeping Willow near the water. It's one of the earliest trees to bloom. The small leaves look almost like a green haze on its dropping branches.

Let's talk about an assertive, tough early flower. Its name is Crocus. It's not afraid to punch through some snow to get its day in the sun and its dots of color against the white snow are a delight.

Daffodils look almost regal with their profusion of gay nodding yellow crowns. The Magnolia tree, also an early bloomer, has huge white and soft pink flowers as a harbinger of warmer weather.

Even the wild precocious Pussy Willow with its fuzzy bumps, in a vase in the house, whisper "spring."