Wake-up time
The winter months slide slowly by. The sun begins to shine a little
longer each day. The air grows a little warmer. The snow begins to melt
and soak into the ground. The earth grows warm and wet and soft. This is
what the plants have been waiting for.
Water soaks into the seeds. Their hard covers grow soft. The water makes
the tiny plants and the stores of food inside the seeds swell up. The
plants burst out of the seeds. From each seed, a tiny root pushes down
into the earth, and a tiny stem with one or two leaves springs up.
The sleeping buds and roots of the older plants begin to stir. There is
water in the ground again for them to find and drink.
Plants aren’t the only things stirring. It is now wake-up time for many
of the sleeping animals, too.
