Back to Spring Notetaking

[Morgan Mandel]

Spring is back!

Wonder of wonders we have a beautiful Spring day in the Chicago area. I and many of my neighbors were out looking for an excuse to enjoy the day, as witnessed by the sight of so many people walking their dogs and so many children and parents congregating at the nearby park.

In between making sure my dog didn't do her duty on someone else's lawn, I was able to once again observe Seasonal evidence. More sunshine, greener grass, more birds singing and flying in pairs were some of the obvious signs.

Delving deeper, I noticed how some of the shrubs had turned yellow due to the harsh snowstorms. I saw granules on the sidewalks from people applying lawn care products to their lawns and not clearing the walkways. I try to avoid those areas. Our dog has enough problems with allergies as it is.

Funny that during the winter it's not as easy to remember the good and bad things of Spring. Even a month ago I couldn't imagine the feeling of seeing daylight not only when I got up in the morning at 6 am, as well as when I came home from work at 6pm.

Now is the time to look around and notice everything happening around us. It might help to write down everything and use it as reference. That way we can incorporate the information when we need it and make our book settings more authentic.

Morgan Mandel

www.morganmandel.com