loving art, science and creative kids

Spring Has Sprung

This is a busy time of year for me. I just installed thirty arboretum paintings at the Lake Oswego Library's Gallery and am finalizing edits of Rightfully Mine: the Water Factor to be published later this year. The paintings will be on display throughout April, so stop by to see them if you are in Oregon.

  Some things are constant reminders of spring, like grabbing a light jacket from its peg by the back door and being reminded of the poem I recited as a child. With jonquils and hyacinths pushing through the earth, and chrysanthemums blooming in the yard, my energy has increased and I'm ready for action.

Spring has sprung 

the grass is riz

I wonder where 

my jacket is.

The words pop into my mind as soon as the first flowers push through the ground. When I looked into who wrote the verse, I came up with a big zero. Though often attributed to Ogden Nash or ee cummings, the poem has roots that go back to an anonymous author centuries before.

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz,

I wonders where the birdies is.

They say the birds is on the wing.

Ain't that absurd?

I always thought the wing was on the bird.

And then there is my favorite adaptation in Arnold Silcock's Verse and Worse.

The Budding Bronx 

Der spring is sprung 

Der grass is riz 

I wonder where dem boidies is? 

Der little boids is on der wing, 

Ain't dat absoid? 

Der little wings is on de boid!

And then - attributed to Ogden Nash though I can't find proof.

Spring has newly sprung

the hills are full of grass

and along comes a billy-goat

sliding on his overcoat down the summer pass. 

Whatever the words, the poems carry the joy, beauty, and energy of the season, a time of rebirth. Spring is a gift that propels me to start anew and focus attention on realizing my dreams. As Passover, Easter, and May Day arrive, they remind me that much of life is cyclical. But after participating in the festivities, I realize the celebrations are not identical to those I went to the previous year. Though the earth circled the sun completing its cycle, I find that I'm not the same person either. All I have to do is look in the mirror to see a few more wrinkles and gray hairs.

  The universe is so vast it is easy to forget that it is in a constant state of transition. Why should humans be different? Our solar system began 4.6 billion years ago as a collapsing cloud of gas and dust. It took 600 million years for the sun and the planets to form. And even longer for the oceans on earth to be formed from the impact of comets rich in water ice. Microscope bacteria evolved into plants and animals to create our present environment. The oldest known fossils from living species are from 3.8 million years ago—not a very long time ago when you consider when the planets began spinning.

  As human brains evolved, sapiens became foragers focused on basic needs like finding food, shelter, and immediate pleasures, not concerned with how the universe and all its creatures are in a constant state of transition. They knew that the earth traveled around the sun but didn't know the extent of changes that came with each revolution. A NASA study published in March 2021 found that Earth's axis has been shifting drastically since 1995, speeding the movement of the poles and changing its direction. The reason behind the shift is melting glaciers, a contributor to climate change.

  Since the earth will be here long after I'm gone, I can only hope that wise land stewards will take the helm from those who choose to remain ignorant or those who are motivated by instant gratification. Pollution, population growth, and our warming planet are major problems that must be taken seriously if our great-grandchildren are to enjoy the boidies and see that the grass is riz each spring.

d a warming planet must be taken seriously if our great-grandchildren are to enjoy the boidies and see that the grass is riz each spring. 

Your thoughts? please respond in my comment secdtion below.

Art is always for sale. Canvas prints of the paints are available for $99, shipping included. Purchase through web sited or contact me at [email protected]

Resources:

NASA Website. Planets Grow and Change OVer time. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/YOSS_Act_14.pdf

POEM- sources for "pring has sprung”

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Visit Lake Oswego Library's gallery at 706 4h Avenue during the month of April to see paintings inspired by Hoyt Arboretum.