There are two seasons, Spring and Autumn, when I tend to wax most poetic. And whenever I read a well turned phrase I always want to share it with others. So here is a little mashup of thoughts on Spring from the minds of Rainier Rilke, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Charles Dickens, Pablo Neruda, Terri Guillemets, Audrey Hepburn, Gustav Mahler, Leo Tolstoy, Margaret Atwood, and Luther Burbank … with just a touch of House Whisperer thrown in for good measure …

Say what you will about the first of January. For me, Spring is truly the beginning of the new year. Everything that comes before is but thought, hope and aspiration, but Spring … Spring is when finally the houselights dim, the audience is hushed, curtains open and a tingle runs through you as the stage begins to glow and the play begins.

When Spring returns … “The Earth is like a child that knows poems.”

Spring is “… the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine . . ."

It is a time “… when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”

It is “… bird chirping weather.”

“Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.”

A time to plant a garden and believe for, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”

Spring is the earth answering all your questions with, “Yes and yes and yes.”

Spring is an unapologetic challenge to pessimism and cynicism. “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”

Spring is the time of earth’s renewal, and the earth is your home and you are its child, so Spring is your time too.

So "Don't wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.”

In other words, step outside your door, breathe deep, begin a new journey, and go build yourself a beautiful life.