A robin looks for its next meal at Parkersburg’s City Park earlier this week. (Photo by Art Smith)

Spring has finally arrived in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

The vernal equinox, when the earth’s axis is tilted in such a way that daylight and darkness is nearly equal, happens at 10:46 a.m. today.

Still, the weather has been a bit on the unusual side this week. But, the long winter with extreme cold and multiple snows is behind us. It’s time to stick our heads outdoors and see what nature has done.

Spring is the season of renewal and nature has been busy. Color has returned, with flowers and trees blooming, slowly replacing the grays and browns for the last three months.

Early spring is a period of rapid growth. At ground level, plants such as crocus, lily and trillium bloom before the trees high above develop their thick canopy of leaves that will eventually block the light from reaching them. Wildflowers add color not only to the landscaping around buildings, but to roadsides and the forest floors as well.

The blooms of a Bradford pear tree prepare to open at the McDonough Wildlife Refuge in Vienna earlier this week. (Photo by Art Smith)

Insects will soon be busy, with bees pollinating the emerging plants.

Although it can be wet in the Mid-Ohio Valley in early spring, April showers bring May flowers.

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change,” according to a quote attributed to Buddha.

Plenty of places are available to get outside and enjoy the beauty of spring. Many offer paved paths.

* The Parkersburg-Ohio River Trail: Begins at the Point at the confluence of the Little Kanawha and Ohio rivers and heads 2.5 miles north along the Ohio River on a paved path.

Leaves emerge from a stem of a plant at the John Blomberg Parkersburg Library Arboretum earlier this week. (Photo by Art Smith)

* The River Trail, Marietta: The 4.5-mile paved path connects the Washington County Fairgrounds with the area around Walmart east of Marietta.

* McDonough Wildlife Refuge, Vienna: Miles of unpaved trails offer views of the forest returning to life. Wildlife sightings are common. The park also has a hilltop paved loop.

* Broughton Nature and Wildlife Education Area, Marietta: The 700-acre park offers paved and unpaved trails.

* The John Blomberg Parkersburg Library Arboretum offers a short paved path through a wide variety of trees and plants.

Soon the leaves will begin filling in the tops of trees, blocking the sun and creating the cooling shade from the heat of summer.

The sun filters through new blooms on a cherry tree in western Washington County. (Photo by Art Smith)

Until then, the early blooms of spring offer a time to enjoy color after so many months of grayness.

Daffodils bloom at Parkersburg City Park. (Photo by Art Smith)

Blooms of a flowering bush prepare to open in western Washington County. (Photo by Art Smith)

Blooms on a dogwood tree sit poised to bloom at John Blomberg Parkersburg Library Arboretum earlier this week. (Photo by Art Smith)