Homesick

Spring is a favorite season of mine, nearly tied with autumn...I guess I like the transitional seasons. The big difference between Spring and Autumn for me is that in Spring, I become terribly, terribly homesick for my home state of Indiana.

Northern Arizona is undeniably beautiful with its vast coniferous forests, snowy mountain peaks, and shadowed canyons. Nature is certainly more wild and primitive here. In Arizona, you can get on horseback in one of our National Forests and ride for 4o miles without ever encountering a fence (or even another human!), and we have bears, wolves, and mountain lions among our pantheon of wildlife. I once asked my dad why he preferred the Southwest to Indiana, and he said, "There are no bears in Indiana." LOL. I miss my dad.

In comparison, Indiana has been tamed by Man. It has a much higher population contained in a smaller area. Its state and national forests are tiny compared to Arizona's. It has been criss-crossed and tied down by fences. Much of the wildlife that was native to the area has been hunted to extinction (there are no big predators left there, unless you count Coyotes, which I personally don't, LOL). They have to conduct mass-murder hunts to keep the deer population under control, because there are no natural predators left to take care of the job.

But...in spite of all the unspoiled, beautiful wilderness I live around here in the mountains, I just don't feel as connected to the Earth as I do when in Indiana. I think it has to do with the fact that here in the Southwest, everything about life is a struggle. Plant life has to be tough and wiry to find purchase in the thin, rocky soil, and to be able to survive in such an arid environment. Animal life also has to be able endure drought conditions and extreme temperatures of heat in the desert and cold in the mountains. Life is not easy for our flora and fauna friends in the Southwest, and as a consequence, Spring does not carry with it the same joyful renewal of life as it does in my homeland of Indiana.

Indiana is lush and fertile, and that is why I miss it so much in the Spring. Everything is budding, ready to burst into new life. I miss the faint green tinge the branches of trees turn right before new leaves spring forth. I miss the joy of finding the first crocus and daffodils pushing through the damp soil to find the sun. I miss the whirligig Sugar Maple seeds spinning down from above. I miss April showers and May flowers. I miss the absolute riot of birdsong outside my bedroom window every morning...a sure sign that spring has arrived.

Spring comes late to the mountains...and is always accompanied by howling winds that seem like they will never die down. Even in late May we can get sudden snow storms. Hard to feel Spring-y when your driveway needs to be shoveled.

So today I feel homesick. I miss my Indiana...even with all its fences (and lack of bears).

P.