Today is bejeweled. The stuff about which The Mamas and the Papas lament in their song California Dreamin'. I am mesmerized every year, and I was born here, by the beauty of upper northern California, specifically Redding. After a long string of 30 to 40 degree days, complete with snow and ice, frost and fog, wind and rain, this treasure reveals itself. Today I wear those jewels of the sun. I wear them on my shoulders, bared by my tank top. My wrists, adorned with glowing, jeweled bracelets of light, flash as I tend the flowers of winter. The Calendula and daffodil, violets and Narcissus, in defiance, display their jelly bean colors. They sparkle around my ankles as I trim trees and rose bushes--seemingly more play than work. I wear them as a glittery tiara on my crown, drawing in the sun's rays. My sleepy dog naps in the diamond-dusted sunlight, warming himself on radiant bricks. This day brings joy. This day brings the wish, the kiss, the tease of spring's jewels, striking against the dark, still infancy of the newborn year.

Carpe Warm Diem!