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A squirrel’s ears twitch. Buds bloom. Even silhouetted against gray skies and patchy snow, there are signs that Spring is coming. Soon, the crocuses I planted last season will push their way out of the thawed earth, and the mint will resume its annual sprawl across my herb garden. Feather-light purple flowers will crown the chives. Two wheels will once again become my primary means of transport - thanks to my trusty 1977 Raleigh bicycle, last summer I only had to put gas in my car once every six weeks.
To me, Spring is Michigan; it’s not surprising, then, that Spring is my favorite season and Michigan is my favorite state. Springtime is symbolic of Michigan’s character: dynamic, hopeful, always adapting. Winter is coming? That’s fine - hardy plants hunker down and conserve their energy until sunlight warms their roots again. The auto industry is facing difficulties? Encourage other industries to flourish - Michigan soil is rapidly becoming Hollywood pay dirt. And on the technology front, R&D in the life sciences and alternative fuels has been expanding ever since the Michigan Technology Tri-Corridor was established in 2002. Alternative energies, too, have become significant players on Michigan’s economic scene. Our industries shift and evolve in the same way Nature finds her course.
Nature’s willingness to adapt isn’t the only reason Spring is the freshest season - its sudden, exuberant diversity plays a considerable role as well. Grass, flowers, weeds and herbs all jockey for growing room, refusing to remain within any artificially imposed boundaries. Shrubs and low-lying plants unfurl their leaves post-haste, hoping to gather sunlight before the eager trees shade them over. Their tumbling joie de vivre is reflected in the cultural fabric that is Michigan: Detroit’s International Jazz Festival and Pontiac’s Arts Beats & Eats,
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the Fox Theater and the DIA, the latticework of ethnic restaurants - too many to name - that weave through the cities. There’s the rich history of the only bi-peninsular state in the United States. Then, of course, there are the people themselves, whose traditions and heritages stem from all corners of the globe. Even the geography of Michigan showcases its unique diversity - from shore to shore, travelers will find sand dunes nestled alongside endless waterfronts and thick forests pierced by crystalline waterfalls. A single road trip could yield enough postcard-quality photos for several years’ worth of nature calendars.
Nature means renewal, a theme that’s been echoed many times throughout Michigan’s storied past. Descendants of Detroit’s eighteenth-century fur traders became industrial shipping giants and lumber barons a hundred years later; the twentieth-century technological revolution sparked by the auto industry was mirrored by a cultural one when Motown Records opened its doors in 1960. Michigan is not a place where possibilities lie idle.
Nor does Spring allow dreams to die. Even in the darkest days of winter, roots patiently bide their time, knowing that warmer days are coming. Meanwhile, we wrap ourselves in blankets and stare out our windows at the drifting snowflakes. There’s beauty in the cold stillness…and there’s beauty in the brightness we know will come, the bright shining promise of hope. The bright shining future of Michigan.
Lisa Howard is a food and health writer based in Berkley, Michigan. She hosts www.theculturedcook.com, a culinary blog and marketplace dedicated to making all of us more knowledgeable nibblers. Stop by her e-kitchen for a byte or two! |
