Spring dreams: This winter, too, shall pass

"April is the cruelest month," T.S. Eliot famously wrote, but he really must have forgotten his Midwest roots after years in England.

February 2008 was the cruelest month with record snowfalls, punishing ice and arctic temperatures. Now, pushed to the limit, we long for something better, something gentler, something warmer.

What is it about spring that stirs our frozen souls?

"No matter if you live here all your life, it's always a miracle - the new life coming up," said Valerie Blaine, Kane County Forest Preserve District nature program manager.

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Ancient cultures offered sacrifices and held celebrations at winter's end.

"In the pre-modern mindset, people had to do certain things to make sure nature or the gods would continue to sustain human life," theologian William Schweiker said.

If that sounds pathetically superstitious, consider the thousands who gather every Groundhog Day breathlessly waiting to watch a furry rodent prognosticate whether there will be six more weeks of winter - which, of course, there will be no matter which way the groundhog rules.

"The deep roots of our joy in spring is an awareness of the vulnerability of life and the dependence of human existence on the natural world," said Schweiker, director of the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago.

"In our technological age, we've lost that sense, but perhaps it's coming back."

The return of spring is also seen as mating season, but that's a bit of a misnomer, Blaine said.

"Mating season has been associated with spring because everyone thinks about new life," she said.

So which species really do get it on as the snow recedes?

"Song birds," Blaine said. "They'll court, mate and carry on."

Also joining the love train this spring will be a type of butterfly called a Mourning Cloak. While most adult butterflies die in the fall, Mourning Cloaks survive winter by sheltering in tree bark.

"When it warms up, they're ready to go out and find the butterfly of their dreams," Blaine said.

According to the National Weather Service, this winter's snowfall in the region was the worst in years, hitting about 50 inches as of last week, compared to an average 27 inches.

Not a good time for people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, a form of depression linked to light deprivation.

"The amount of sunlight is a critical factor," said Barry Rabin, a psychiatrist and medical director at Linden Oaks Hospital in Naperville.

The good news is, "a lot of people with SAD will find an improvement in their mood as sunlight increases," he said.

How does Rabin handle the stress of winter?

"I go to Florida," he said. "That's how I deal with it."