Signs of Spring!

I set out looking for, well, signs of spring in Milford! After this harsh winter, who wouldn't?

When I told one man of my mission, he laughed and said, "You'll have to wait another month for that!"

But an optimistic woman told me she thought she saw crocuses cropping up at the Milford Yacht Club.

So I raced over there, searching for the green among the flower bed -- but didn't see any. That ship sailed quickly!

Undaunted, I continued my search and found a few things worth noting: a patch of grass not covered in snow, a bench not covered in snow, a swing set not covered in snow.

I heard birds chirping in trees. I saw a boat propped up on someone's front lawn. I saw a white-haired man taking a stroll. And I spied some laundry hanging on a line! You don't see that in winter. The shirts and pants would freeze!

I cheated and went to the beauty parlor to get my nails polished pink.

"It looks like spring!" one of the manicurists chirped.

But my biggest, honest find in the Small City with a Big Heart was a little greenery (could be weeds, but who cares at this point?) sprouting in a planter in my yard! Whoa! That's the real deal! A true sign of spring!

With a severe case of spring fever, I found myself unable to wait for buds to start blooming in Milford.  So over the weekend, I headed toward Hartford for the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show at the Connecticut Convention Center.

There, I saw all sorts of signs of spring: koi ponds, waterfalls, a bird's nest, butterflies and, well, flowers, flowers and more flowers! My favorite was a bed of tulips. I just adore tulips!

And I just had to take some flowers home.  But they would wilt, I lamented.

Then I saw it: the hat with flowers that would last forever!

The hot pink, turquoise blue and pea green number -- all woven into one spring day -- caught my eye.  I put it on and, well, it was springtime!

I walked out with an extra pep in my step -- and what I've come to call my Happy Hat on my head!