Ah, Spring!

It was a warm, sunny day, with the feel of spring in the air. A good day to go exploring, I mentioned to my room mate over lunch, really the first warm enough day to go exploring since I moved. Just the day before I'd taken my bike over to the gas station and put air in its tires. The afternoon stretched in front of me like the bike trail that I intended to follow. I put on my vest and my hat and my mittens, as it can be cool biking in the spring. I stepped out of the house and found my bike. I set off for the trail.
This is a trail that I've followed on foot before. I marvelled at the speed that took me past the familiar. Bicycles are a lovely invention, faster than walking, simpler than automobiles. With a bicycle, the town was suddenly smaller.
To the south, as I set out, the Missouri flowed past on its way to the meet the Mississippi and then go with it to the sea. Nebraska filled the space between the river and the sky. Then, the trail turned, meandering up the creek that flows through the town. I followed the trail north. Bike trail and creek make a continuous park through the town, widening in different neighborhoods, spotted with park benches and pavilions.
Peace came as I peddled. Robins sang in the trees and everywhere the feeling of spring pervaded. I came across several trucks of city workers, getting ready to prepare the parks for summer.
I reached at long last a turning point, out where I heard the killdeer shrilly welcoming spring.
I have not lived here long enough to know fully what this feeling of spring means. In Colorado, in the mountains where I grew up, this feeling signified the beginning of the spring-thaw, but did not preclude more snowstorms. Here, I likewise doubt that the snows have stopped entirely, but, with hope, I know that spring is here.