By: Stephanie Reynolds
It’s warm and soft and pretty. Daffodils are blooming. So are the forsythia. (And so is my blasted plum tree which almost certainly means a future freeze and I won’t get plums this year…again…).
While summer is my favorite season, spring really shifts me into drive. There are events to be planned, seeds to be planted, and apparently nest boxes to be built for my turkeys—we just found an egg in the coop.
I love watching the trees get hazy looking on the drive home. At first, I just blink rapidly in case the fuzziness is more allergies than actual growth.
Day after day, though, the haze gets greener and more pronounced and soon little leaves emerge. Not too long from now we will be driving through beautiful oak arches as branches reach over the road.
I imagine what it might feel like to be a tree slowly waking on the trail, stretching its limbs on a warm-sun/cool-breeze Wednesday in March, and I realize it feels just like me—stretching my way out of a pleasant, if chilly, winter, and eager to bring fruit in the summer.
Just moments ago, an ice cream truck drove past my work window—a surer sign of spring than redbud blossoms. But I also realized I have my space heater on my feet to keep off the chill, the hot air of which seems to whisper, “Wait, Steph, before you get too heady and enthusiastic about the sweetly scented air of spring, remember it might get cold.” And I let trepidation of more winter make me pause.
But only for a moment. Why waste a perfectly good spring day for fear of a cold snap that may not happen? Why start shopping for out-of-season plums when my tree may be heavy laden come July? Why not thoroughly embrace spring today, just for a few hours, without letting fear or anxiety cloud up and chill a brilliantly sunny afternoon?
Hmmm… why not indeed?
Events coming up in Athens:
- 2026 Boutique Crawl: March 7 & 14, 2026, all day downtown Athens. This March, downtown Athens’ clothing and gift boutiques will offer major specials during the 2026 Boutique Crawl for two Saturdays. Shoppers can enjoy exclusive deals, and for every purchase over $20, they can enter to win a $500 Shopping Spree in downtown Athens
- State of the City Address: March 10, 2026, 8:00 AM, Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives. Join the Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce as they host the State of the City Address. Athens Mayor, Ronnie Marks, will take this opportunity to update the community on the city’s progress and the past year in review.
- Plant Propagation: March 10, 2026, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Athens-Limestone County Public Library. Join the Limestone County Master Gardeners for their free presentation on plant propagation.
- St. Patrick’s Day Parade with a Purpose: March 17, 2026, 6:30 PM, Jefferson Street and along the Square at the Limestone County Courthouse. Donations of diapers, wipes, and deodorant will be collected for the Athens Family Resource Center. Music will begin on the Courthouse steps at 5:30 PM.
- Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Concert Series: March 19, 2026, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM McCandless Hall at Athens State University. Please join us for a special performance by The Gibson Brothers on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 7:00 PM in historic McCandless Hall at Athens State University.
- 3rd Annual Singing River Smoke-O-Rama BBQ Festival: March 27, 2026, 6:00 PM, Limestone County Sheriff’s Rodeo Arena. Fire up the grills and sharpen the knives! The Singing River Smoke-O-Rama BBQ Festival is officially returning to Athens, Alabama, on March 27th and 28th, 2026.
By: Stephanie Reynolds, Athens-Limestone Tourism Association
