Ode to Spring

April... such a pretty month, especially following March.  Even after living in Austin where March was the loveliest month of the year, I still connote it with dirty snow and dreary countenances.  April, though, is springtime!  And it feels like it in Toulouse.  The first two days of April were the sunniest, prettiest days anyone could ask for.  Flowers--daffodils, tulips, pansies, and poppies-- cover the roadsides and the parks.

A patch of flowers that I pass on my bike on my way to work.  The picture doesn't do it justice-- it's painfully pretty.

 Yesterday, in celebration of the glorious weather, I rode my bike along the canal to le Jardin des Plantes (Toulouse's "Central Park," if you will), where I wrote and read and observed the Mallard ducklings and all the picnickers. 

I'm well aware that ever since graduation, I've been on a paid vacation-- first Alaska, now France.  I have so much free time, it's almost a crime, but instead of guiltily trying to fill it, I've chosen to accept the blessing.  There is a season for everything-- a time to run and a time to rest, a time to work and a time to play-- and all one can do is enjoy it as it comes.  So during these lengthening days, I'm relishing my last weeks in Toulouse.   It's hard to believe I leave in less than a month!  Besides the usual reading and writing, I occasionally try my feet at the slack-line and frequently research the next steps of my European adventure (a month on the rails, but you'll hear about that when it happens!).  Praise God for spring and all the newness it brings!