Throwback Thursday: What is your vorboði? #TBT

[#1]

It's Thursday!


The Icelandic word "vorboði" literally means "spring-proclaimer". In Iceland, the small birds fly to the south in the fall to live during winter. And they come back in the spring. So seeing those little birds again in the spring, is a true vorboði. There have been poems written about them or at least they have been mentioned in poems.

For me, it’s hearing and/or seeing the motorcycles on the streets! Growing up in Iceland, there was often snow and or ice in March and April, making it almost impossible to ride motorcycles. So hearing them again in April and May, really was the sound of spring, at least for me. Also the warmth reflecting off the concrete or paved roads in the sunshine. Just feeling that little warmth is such a vorboði.

Sooooo, what is a vorboði in your mind?

Let’s make it a great Thursday!
KGM

[Martin Runge]

To me, a vorboði isn't just a sign of nature waking up; it’s a lovely marker of time.

It’s a cheerful Saturday morning when the windows are open, and the gentle hum of bumblebees from the garden softly drifts into the kitchen. But the most special 'spring-proclaimer' is inside: my three-year-old daughter helping me make our beloved Saturday pancakes. As I breathe in that fresh spring air, I realize another year has gracefully passed. The garden cycles back to where it was, but she is growing and changing so quickly.

That wonderful combination of the buzzing bees outside and her tiny hands helping in the kitchen truly signals that a beautiful new chapter has begun.

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

For me, a real vorboði is that first morning when you can open the window and the air finally smells different. Not winter anymore, not quite summer yet, just that fresh, lighter feeling that tells you the season has turned.

Another one is hearing birds much earlier in the morning again. It is such a small thing, but after the dark and quiet winter months it always feels like the world is waking up properly.

I really like this word by the way. “Spring-proclaimer” has a nice meaning behind it.

[Barbara Szczesniak]

When I was growing up in upstate New York, the first sign was the daffodils, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't snow anymore. You could be a bit surer when the tulips bloomed. The definite sign was later in the spring with the blooming of the lilac bushes. 

       

[Charlene Freeman]

For me, a real vorboði is seeing all of nature come to life with blossoms. It also includes the onslaught of Pollen. That yellow dust covers everything in it's path! Living in a southern USA state, Pollen is a huge part of spring and it definitely affects us all. 

[John Funk]

Like @Barbara Szczesniak - growing up in Tennessee, it was always when the daffodils began to bloom. There might be a few more days of cold or even a random snowfall, it it always meant Spring was around the corner. 

[Susan Waldrip]

Where I live, it's the bees appearing, the motorcycles on the back roads (crazy people ride year-round on the highways), rarely seen birds briefly start flying through on their way north, and our tulips start blooming. It all starts happening around the same time, and I really enjoy it!

[Trudy Claspill]

I'm with @John Funk and @Barbara Szczesniak .

I don't "trust" the daffodils to herald spring as they are sometimes too eager to bloom but the tulips are pretty trustworthy.

[John Funk]

@Trudy Claspill  - agreed but we had a lot of daffodils in our yard growing up, but no tulips   :-)

[Stephen_Lugton]

The daffodils and cherry blossom are a good indicator of spring, although my daughter's little potted garden that she planted last weekend suffered a bit form a localised hail storm yesterday.

[Amanda Barber]

Hearing the birds chirping and seeing daffodils bloom is my vorboði! Great topic, @Kristján Geir Mathiesen! This week has been full of the birds chirping with windows open airing out the house. 🏠 

[Matt Doar]

Because I couldn't guess:

The Icelandic word vorboði (meaning "harbinger of spring") is pronounced approximately as VOR-boh-thih. The "ð" (eth) is a soft, voiced "th" sound, similar to the "th" in "this" or "breathe".

For me it's when the raining (mostly) stops happening in Northern California and things are green for a month or two

[Bobby Taylor]

For me, it has to be the cherry blossoms! Cherry blossom viewing or "hanami" with a picnic and drink of choice was one of my favorite springtime activities when I was living in Japan. And Tsuruga-jo castle with its sakura trees were a sight to behold! 

[Steve Ashton]

In southern Australia the big "vorboði" so far has been the excited calling of Lorikeets in our fig tree feasting away on the ripening fruit. They are so noisy, but it is like listening to kids playing - loud but it makes you smile.

[Tomislav Tobijas]

For me, it's looking outside and seeing I have to take out my lawnmower and start mowing 😅

[Kristján Geir Mathiesen]

Takk for all your awesome comments!