It was easy to dismiss Iowa’s vibrancy as short days disappeared into long nights, and precious little snow fell to cover the brown, barren landscape during its winter slumber. Then along came April, bursting forth with fragile green, soft pinks and striking lilacs and teasing us with warm, breezy days before retreating with a damp chill that reminded us of the restorative power of her rains.

Adieu, April. Bienvenue, May.

Iowa shakes off the last of her long sleep in May. The Downtown Farmers Market resumes, and the Court Avenue District teems every Saturday morning with crowds searching for home-grown produce and good conversation. The new $61.9 million Science Center of Iowa will open in mid-May, offering an exciting new collection and bringing an IMAX theater to Central Iowa. Normally disciplined and regimented business people are lured away from their offices and cubicles for an afternoon of frivolity with the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park. Graduation caps twirl in the air in celebration as one chapter in young people’s lives ends and another begins.

Does life in Central Iowa get better than this? Yes. May offers a promise to be fulfilled by its summer siblings, June, July and August. Summer concerts under the stars are calling. Winefest Des Moines signature events and the Des Moines Arts Festival promise to draw huge crowds downtown in June. In July, Wells Fargo Arena will finally open. And in August, Iowans will enjoy best state fair anywhere. Throughout the summer, small towns burst with hospitality with parades, street fairs and hometown reunions that keep Iowans connected.

And nature struts some of her best stuff. A lazy float down the Middle Raccoon River traces the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin Drift, the last glacier to reach the Midwest, and offers a magnificent view of those unusual geological formations. Gray’s Lake Park overflows with joggers, bicyclists, swimmers and picnickers. The waters of Saylorville Lake beckon Iowans to untarp their boats, wax their water skis and pull out their fishing gear.

From the verve of its cities and pastoral beauty of its countryside, Iowa offers it all. We forget sometimes how good life is here. Give us something to hold on to, May, and let the fun begin.