Sign of hope

Springing to life is this Willow on Pleasant Lake.  As March ends, the willow branches are the first to show life and reflect hope that, yes, there really is a spring coming.

This tree has captured the imagination of many all over the world for centuries.  Here are just a few!  Poets have written about it, from Robert Herrick (To the Willow Tree) in the 17th century to William Carlos Williams (Willow Poem) in the 20th.  And for children, there is Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, from which AA Milne took his play Toad of Toad Hall.