As winter gives way to spring, I get to engage in one of my favorite pastimes - hiking.  I take my dog and away we go, exploring local trails and sometimes blazing new trails.  Yesterday, I chose to go to one of my favorite spots, The Beall Trail in the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.  I parked and walked to the trail head where I ran into a lady from out of town - one of the many tourists who pass through our Valley each year.  I spoke and she was cordial.  I made a comment about enjoying the trail, and she answered, "well, there's nothing on the trail, so I'm leaving."  I immediately thought, how unfortunate, but as I hiked around the trail for the next 90 minutes, I had even more thoughts.  I guess this poor unfortunate soul totally missed the sun bouncing off the smooth bark on the trees and dancing on the ground pine.  Perhaps she didn't notice the perfect blonde of the leaves hanging on the young oak trees.  Left over from fall, they have been recently revealed as the snow melted away.  I suppose she stepped over the tiny white flowers fighting their way toward the sun through the mashed orchard grass, standing as tall as possible, proud though small.  Without the heavy green blanket of summer, it is possible to see all the beautiful ridges that surround the Valley.  Some people think early spring is not a pretty time because everything is the same color, but as a good friend of mine pointed out (thanks Audrey), there are actually so many colors that it's hard to register each one as you gaze across the fields and rivers of the Valley.  The blueberry bushes are just getting a red tint on the buds.  The trees look like they are pushing hard against the ends of their branches, just waiting for the right moment to burst out . . . . . and it will happen overnight!  As I neared the end of the trail, I saw a small copper colored garden snake trying to soak up the last rays of the day, holding onto as much heat as possible.  He didn't even care that I was touching him a bit....he was focused on the sun...much like me!  I, too, was soaking up as much of the warm sun as possible because I know that spring in the Valley has a few days like this one that are gems and many other days that remind us how Old Man Winter hangs on until the very last minute!