A little bit about a lot of things:

• The sun is shining on this glorious Sunday, and all around us are the miracles of spring.

We don’t always take the time to enjoy and appreciate the rebirth which spring delivers as we go about our hectic lives and daily routines.

Sometime, to be sure, the fog and frost of winter gave way to the showers of spring and just as surely the days of warm sunshine followed.

Sandwiched between the gloom of winter and the blistering dog days of a valley summer, spring is the best Mother Nature has to offer.....a show to be savored.

I am amazed at the transformation we have seen in recent weeks as the plants and flowers awaken from their winter dormancy.

Our once-drab and dreary “winter” yard now boasts color at every turn......daffodils here, snapdragons flowering there, tiny crocuses adding an accent of color in one area and the vibrant flowers of cyclamen exploding in another.

This can’t be the same space that occupied our back yard a month ago.

Bitten hard by the frost of early December, our new landscape additions were looking anything but healthy for the past few months.....until welcome rains and warm sunshine brought them back to life.

Now, it seems, each day brings change to the yard, whether it is a new flower bursting into bloom or another plant showing a growth spurt.

Of course, all that rain seems to have brought a bumper crop of weeds as well - but nothing’s perfect, right?

Kathy and I spent a few hours one recent weekend pulling weeds from the “undeveloped” portion of our property, and by the time we were done we had quite a pile to show for our efforts!

Our hummingbird friends are back as well, settling into their well-rehearsed dance to the feeder. One in particular tries to claim our yard as its own, perching on a photinia plant and keeping a close eye out for any intruders, which are promptly chased away.

In time, enough hummingbirds will find the feeders that one can no longer rule the roost and the tiny but energetic birds will co-exist in their own entertaining manner......just one of the season’s many marvels.

• Just a reminder......the spring time change takes place this weekend, when we switch back to Daylight Saving Time.

The hour of sleep we sacrifice by turning the clocks forward Saturday night is well worth the “extra” hour of evening daylight we get through the summer and into the fall months.

Although it takes my internal clock a few days to make the adjustment, I love having the “extra” hour of evening daylight.

The time change officially occurs at 2 a.m. Sunday......don’t forget to “spring ahead” one hour before turning in on Saturday evening!

• We’ve seen this story too many times before.....another young person with West Side ties is battling leukemia.

Family members say Joseph Nasser, 18, who lived in Gustine before moving to Modesto a few years ago and still has many friends and relatives here, is hospitalized at Stanford where he is undergoing treatment for the disease.

His aunt, Joy Spinelli of Gustine, said Joseph was diagnosed with leukemia about two weeks ago and was immediately transferred to the Bay Area for treatment.

Cards and letters can be sent to Joseph in care of Spinelli, 1183 South Ave., Gustine.

He is in many thoughts and prayers.

• Free money? You don’t find that every day.....but two local organizations are in the business of giving away college cash to young adults to help them pursue higher education.

TOSCA and GUSTO will once again be handing out scholarship awards to deserving students in Newman and Gustine, respectively, this spring.

We are very blessed to have these organizations, which have helped countless students through the years. The community-based scholarship organizations help students reach for their dreams. Not everybody grows up in a community with that kind of support.

The application period for GUSTO and TOSCA scholarships is now open, and we encourage all eligible students to apply.

Remember, though, to keep those grades up, fully complete the application and meet the deadline......none of which is too much to ask in return for free money!