The first day of spring | The first spring day

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
                                                                                                        ~Henry Van Dyke

So true. During the past few weeks in Vancouver we've enjoyed some pleasant pre-spring weather as well as a few, unwelcome reappearances of winter -- including snow this past Monday!

But yesterday, the March equinox, late afternoon sunshine, and daffodils, cherry blossoms and violas combined to make the day ...well, truly vernal. Oh, and after work I opened the mailbox at home to find this pretty envelope from a gardening friend.

Before I opened the envelope (oh, so carefully) I had to admire it for a few moments. The design reminded me of the covers of heirloom seed catalogues I'd picked up at Seedy Saturday this past February.

Inside the envelope, a sweet card & carefully packaged, extra-special seeds -- eggplant, basil & lettuce -- from Master Gardener Meighan. Thank you!