Before beddy-bye Saturday night, remember to set your clocks ahead an hour. Yes, it’s that time to add more light to the end of our day. Daylight Saving Time.

Though in some parts of the country winter will still have its fierce hold over weekend, the changing of our clock does give us a chance to “Spring Forward” into thoughts of spring. And song.

“For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. (Song of Solomon 2:11-12)

Again in Isaiah, we find this association between spring and singing:

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. (Isaiah 35:1)

I confess the dark winter in our nation and health issues within my family hasn’t created much of a mood for singing, except perhaps for the blues. You don’t buy a new set of harmonicas because you feel like blowing a happy tune.

But with longer, warmer days comes brighter songs in more hopeful keys. And Jesus in my ear. “Why worry about clothes … or shutdowns … or columns? See how the flowers of the field grow.” (Matthew 6:28-30)

Ah, the flowers. Last month’s nightmare cold and snowstorms in Texas brutalized my wife’s beautiful gardens. Protective coverings can only do so much, and when the temperatures finally rose above freezing and the coverings came off, things didn’t look too good for the roses and hydrangeas. The plants looked like bunches of old pick-up sticks jabbed in the soil.

But in recent days all our rose bushes and hydrangeas and gardenias have shown signs of growth. Green now dots the brown sticks. Bulbs planted in a new garden last fall have shot life up through the dirt, exploding into yellows, whites and purples.

See how the flowers of the field grow, indeed, after a dark winter.

I could see them up close because my day off Tuesday was spent mostly weeding, tending to our yard and gardens as St. Patrick’s Day music drifted down off our back porch.

I sang along to the familiar songs. Not always uplifting lyrics, but always an uplifting tune.

Winter still will try to call you back, but like the clock, it’s time to Spring Forward. And sing.

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl on Twitter and Parler, if his Twitter account is restored. You can also follow him @StreamingAl on Gab and MeWe.