For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
- Song of Solomon as quoted by Ernie Harwell
The older I get, the more I love this quote. Not only for the sentiment about spring, but also the memory it sparks about my youth.
I spent every spring in my youth listening to Ernie Harwell and Al Kaline covering the Detroit Tigers baseball games on WJR. I often fell asleep with a pair of headphones on because the game was on the west coast and went farther into the night than I could. Those happy memories always started every spring with Ernie reciting these words.
For me it marked so many starts. The start of the baseball season, and being able to listen to Ernie and Al call the games. The “start” to the end of the school year, and the beginning of summer vacation. And the start of the nursery season. Which meant my father would be leaving early, getting home late, working weekends, all the things that we all know and live.
2025 marks my 30th official year at Christensen’s. And while numerous things have changed over the last 30 years, it always is so striking at how many things remain the same. (Like my quoting of Song of Solomon… bonus points if you noticed that I’ve quoted it before!) Winter ends. The snow melts. And semi load after semi load of freshly dug shade and ornamental trees start arriving for the next landscaping season in Michigan. Shortly after that, my friends, all of you start coming back to visit us at Christensen’s.
Welcome back my friends. Welcome back.
