This spring will be different. My dad won't be there leading us, but he will be cheering us on from the sidelines as we get in the tractor, ready to plant seeds of canola and hope.

But we live in hope in that far-off country of Maybe This Year. Spring is a time of renewal and new beginnings. But for some, the stately among us, it can mean the end. The magic of trees ...

After a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, this spring gives us hope that the new season will bring us more freedom and joy than we experienced last March, when we first became aware of the coronavirus.