IT'S SPRING ALRIGHT! Ah, it's spring alright The days are short and black The wind howls, the rain lashes, and meets in great areas of boggy nothingness. Stranded sheep call for a raft and gaze mournfully at white-topped mountains where their cousins are surely huddled. You can't keep your ould boots free of mud and muck, the fire won't light with damp sticks and the turf is soft and crumbles at your touch. Washed clothes lurk about the house and emit a foggy vapour as they slowly dry. Windows chatter in their frames and the 'oil level' lessens every day. And then ... A shy snowdrop catches your eye. A golden wild pansy winks at you from the ditch. There's a stretch in the days. The welcome sunlight shows you cobwebs here and there. Playful lambs show off their newly-mastered acrobatics. Daffodils nod "yes yes" in the breeze. The meadows awaken from their sodden sleep and get busy growing. Above all the callings of excited birds you hold your breath for the call of the cuckoo ... It's spring alright! -- Eileen T. McGOVERN, "Leitrim Guardian" yearly magazine 2003.