Ahhhhh ... choo! Springtime.

Yes, it is allergy season. I hear this spring is going to be a wallapalooza.But spring is so much more than nasal sprays and tissues.Alfred, Lord Tennyson said, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."Especially young man bunnies. The bunnies are everywhere! On my way to work the other morning I saw two chasing each other around a small pine tree, several times, just round and round and round. They made me laugh. They brought back fond memories of when Harry use to chase me around the kitchen table like that.While running around a pine tree or the kitchen table doesn't exactly say "Springtime" to me now, spring does make me feel like singing and dancing...because:*The sun shines warm upon my face.*The gray dingy colors of winter are beginning to turn a refreshing green.*Color is appearing in the form of crocuses, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths.*The trees are sprouting buds that will soon burst into bloom.It's that time of year when we break out the lawn and porch furniture to enjoy sitting outdoors.We're dusting off our flip flops and sandals, digging out our shorts and capris and pushing those heavy old winter coats into the back of the closets.This Saturday is the start of fishing season. Take your favorite youngster fishing. Those first days of fishing seasons with my grandfather are some of my best memories.And speaking about dancing, the Spirit of Women and Pocono Medical Center is hosting a Day of Dance on Thursday, April 18 at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort. They're promoting how important it is for our health and what we can do to prevent heart disease. They will combine the fun of dancing to different kinds of music, such as ballroom dancing, rock 'n roll and zumba. It's for men and women of all ages. The keynote speaker is cardiothoracic surgeon Laszlo Fuzeci, MD and there will be a Q and A with SamerAlkhuja, MD along with free health screening. And there's food. You must preregisterIf you want to bring Spring in with singing, you'll enjoy the Pleasant Valley Choral Society's spring concert April 27 and 28 at Pleasant Valley High School.If you're a motor enthusiast, springtime means revving up those engines of motorcycles and classic cars that have been sitting idle in garages all winter long. April 24-28 is the Carlisle Car Show. Soon there will be Cruise Nights at the local ice cream drive-ins.Gardeners have already planted lettuce, onions, potatoes, peas and more. Maybe you don't have room for a garden or you don't plant one anymore but you like working in the soil. The Garden of Giving is a nonprofit garden that grows fresh vegetables and fruits that are given to the local food pantries for families in need. Tammy Graeber, founder and director, is always looking for volunteers to help plant and tend the garden. She can be reached at 570-402-1282 or email

gardenofgiving@gmail.com.As you drive along, you'll notice the farmers are out plowing and seeding the fields. If you have an appreciation for farms, you'll love Quiet Valley's first in its Seasons of the Year program, "Spring-A Time of Renewal" which is today, 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. in Snydersville. You can learn about the diet of early settlers while making tasty bunny rolls.Earth Day is April 22, where more than one billion people around the globe participate in Earth Day activities to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth and its natural environments. Mechanicsburg has always been known as the little green town and so on April 20 they hold an annual Earth Day Festival from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.There's lots to do in this magical time of the year.I for one rejoice in all spring offers and what it symbolizes.In Praise of SpringSpringtime fills my spirit in softly colored sighs,Midst warming sun-kissed days and dazzling blue lit skies.Nature takes a bow in her show of life and birth,As everything awakens upon dear Mother Earth.The flower, the tree, the creatures and everything that is,Lift countenance to heaven, for we are all of His.God breathes a breath of heavenly life all cross the waking land,There is no doubt that Spring is sown by God's own loving hand.