I feel unmoored. Sheltering in place to avoid COVID-19, the cascade of news updates, the string of cancellations has created a surreal reality. What day is it? My calendar is full of crossed-out activities, including my long-awaited surgery.

So it is more reassuring than ever that Spring arrived today on schedule. It actually started feeling like Spring in February. Warm days with no rain raised the specter of another drought here in California. But it was hard to disagree with sunny days, the tender green leaves unfurling on the big trees along the boulevard, people milling outside the ice cream shop, and everything in bloom.

How sweet the air smells at sunset and early in the morning after a welcome rain shower. Today, the sky was so bright with the most pleasing clouds puffed up above the hills.

A thatch of wild oats that have sprouted on a nearby corner takes me right back to my childhood. The tall grasses and wild oats would grow waist-high in a field behind my house. We would trample down a spot to create a “fort” in which we could hunker and not be seen by the “bad guys” or our parents.

Isn’t it funny how something as simple as the scent of a flower or the sight of wild oats can carry us back in time? And make us smile.

A recent pre-pandemic visit to Filoli historic house and gardens was a step back in time. It was a time of grand estates and vast gardens carefully groomed by an army of servants. Now the staff is employed by the Filoli Center, but the grounds are no less splendid.

The daffodil field was in all its glory, and the pleasant smell of hyacinth was everywhere. Buds on wisteria and rose and fruit trees promised more to come.

As we contemplate what a pandemic means to our lives and how we may be cooped up for weeks, it is a relief to breathe deep the fresh air and wiggle our toes in the grass.  Spring and summer will come — no matter what else is going on.

Filoli | Historic House & Garden