Happy New Year! As we celebrate the start of 2021, we look forward to the renewal that a fresh year brings. As we continue our Countdown to Spring, we want to start the year with a celebration of new beginnings and the promise of warm, colorful days ahead.
With the spirit of spring in our minds and hearts, we’re sharing some of our favorite words of wisdom about the turning of the seasons and the anticipation of springtime rejuvenation.
On finding inspiration in the changing seasons:
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
— Anne Bradstreet, poet
“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
— Rachel Carson, marine biologist, author and conservationist
“The madness of spring is so enticing. I love it when things are opening up and emerging from the ground. I also love the middle of summer when fruit is bursting forth, but I even love the garden in the winter when everything is resting.”
— Ross Gay, poet
“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”
— George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist
“The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.”
— Gertrude S. Wister, horticulturist and author
On spring as a state of mind:
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
– Audrey Hepburn, actress and humanitarian
“Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.”
— Victor Hugo, from “The Preludes,” author and poet
“Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush.”
— Doug Larson, columnist and editor
“Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.”
— Lilly Pulitzer, fashion designer
On springtime joys to look forward to:
“Sun makes the day new. / Tiny green plants emerge from the earth. / Birds are singing the sky into place. / There is nowhere I want to be but here.”
— Joy Harjo, poet and playwright
“The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.”
— Harriet Ann Jacobs, author
“And when spring comes to the City people notice one another in the road; notice the strangers with whom they share aisles and tables and the space where intimate garments are laundered.”
— Toni Morrison, author and professor
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s Party!’”
— Robin Williams, actor and comedian
Do you have a quote about spring renewal and the changing of the seasons that you love? Tag us at @HudsonRiverPark and use the hashtag #HRPK on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter — we’d love to hear your favorites. And be sure to visit our Countdown to Spring regularly as the season approaches. We’ll be sharing stories, words of wisdom, signs of spring and more!