That one color green

I've been waiting to see my favorite color green for quite some time here in Minnesota.  That first green/gold/yellow in the trees that renews the promise that spring will come.  It's been a long hard wait this year.  On our recent drive to south we got to watch the trees go from bare, to that first blush of green around Madison, to crabapple blooming glory in Chicago, to full on spring in Indianapolis, and nearly summer in Nashville.  It was lovely.  And then of course it was all undone on our trip home two days later.  I mourned the loss of lushness as the miles rewound and we rolled back into the still barren landscape in our neighborhood.  But then today we hit the mid-80's here and I swear that during the course of my bike ride this morning that the trees popped.  We're there.  The road up to my house is once again a bright tunnel of chartreuse.  All too soon the bright hues will dull to the dark dusty greens of summer and I will remind myself that I shouldn't wish for spring too hurry.  It will always come, and it will always be worth the wait.