This morning I heard the song of the turtle dove or the mourning dove, whichever name you call this welcome bird of spring. Nothing can give me peace quicker than hearing this coo-oo, coo, coo, coo sound echoing across the fields. I become a small child again, waking up to a warm morning with many promises for the day. I feel that all is right with the world when this little bird joins us with its song.

Wherever I am when I hear this song I instantly return, in my mind, to the lawn of our family farm, The Wayside. The bird has sung to me in many locations across the nation, but each time it sings, I come home.

The alternate name for this bird, mourning dove, applies to what some consider a mournful sound of the bird's call. I don't consider it a sad sound but a very pleasant one. I never fail to smile when I hear it. In fact when I hear it for the first time I laugh out loud.

The next thing I did after I heard the song was to look for signs of the early flowers. The dry weather probably has played havoc with the crocus that usually will be peeking up about this time. I did find one small yellow bloom and some other green spikes that show other locations where we may still see the welcoming colors in the dry lawn.

Robins have been around for quite awhile, but lately I have seen more of them at the same time.

They are usually bob bob bobbing around the edge of our pond. The worms are active in those areas, and of course the Robins are after the worms.

The unusually warm weather probably has both flora and fauna confused this year. Some trees seem to be budding, but our Forsythia bushes have not shown any signs of yellow yet. Very late last fall, or early winter, we could see some isolated yellow blooms on the bushes as they perhaps thought that spring had already come. But now that it might be very close, the bushes just look brown and dry. I am afraid the drought might have killed some of them, but they are hardy bushes and I still have hopes that soon the yellow blooms will begin to greet us each day.

Inside our house the unusual weather has caused confusion also. Several times I began to put my warm weather clothes in my spare closet when another exceptionally warm spell came and I wanted to wear some of the lighter garments. Last weekend when it was very cold, I pulled out some of my heavier sweaters and slacks that I hadn't needed yet this year. So they are squeezed in with the more summery ones. It doesn't seem worthwhile at this point to try to separate the two, so for a few weeks I will live with the seasonal mixture.

Each season has its appeal. But no season is more eagerly awaited than spring. A sunny day in March can lift spirits very quickly. A sunny day in July does not have the same effect. When we have had many bright days and warm weather we forget about the excitement the first few warm days brought to us.

For now I rejoice that I can again hear my favorite bird song, and look forward to many more warm days, more bird songs and flowers. I might even organize my closet, but don't count on it.

Remember that the turtledove makes me feel like a little child again.

Who worries about closets when you are that young?