Signs o' Spring

   Everybody talks about the first robin  (Turdus migratorius) of Spring, and indeed it is a sight we all look forward to. But there be many other harbingers of the season, bringing the promise of warmer weather and good times outdoors.  Now let me say this about the groundhog: his legendary forcasting skills are basically the stuff of a hyped-up media event and has nothing at all to do with the arrival of Spring. You all know his handlers drag the marmot out of his den each February 2nd to determine whether or no he sees his shadow. With all those spotlights and cameras in his face, how could he see anything?
   Nevertheless, soon after that, his cousins the 'Possum and Skunk creep forth from their winter sleep to become roadkill on our highways and byways. That unmistakeably pungent odor of dead skunk is a sure sign Spring is on its way!

   A bit more pleasant herald of the coming season is the ever-so-slowly inching up of the sunset past 5:00 pm, on its way toward 5:30, 5:45, then...... Maybe one of my favorite days of the year: Daylight Savings Time ends!!! Dark afternoons and evenings are over! Yay! I don't care about some sleepy-eyed marmot seeing his shadow, I wannna see MY shadow after dinner!

   How I love to see the snowbanks and ice-sheets recede little by little as they revert to their proper form of liquid water! Revealing all those fall leaves and debris from broken branches, as well as the regular garbage no one has picked up since October, wait, is that GREEN  I see? Fresh growth of moss and weeds?
   And look! The neighbor is taking down his Christmas decorations! Woo-Hoo!  Then as the ground waxes warmer and softer,  do I detect the first few sprouts of those bulbs I planted last fall? YES!! Soon we'll be treated to a show of purple, yellow, white, and blue as the crocus come into bloom.

    Now Readers, I do realize that technically speaking,  St. Patrick's Day is actually the final winter holiday.  Technically schmechnically, this is my blog and I say St. Patrick's is the first Spring holiday! Why do ya think they call the soap "Irish Spring"?  Whatever, I don't care, I just know that when I see shamrocks and green bowler derbies everywhere, Spring is almost here! Erin go Bragh! And I don't need some fancy DNA test to tell me I've a wee bit o' Irish blood runnin' through me veins!
   Anyway, those of you who know me are aware that my favorite seasons are Summer #1, Spring #2, Autumn #3, and Winter dead last at #4.  So it is with joy I behold the demise of that dark, cold, snowy, icy, carb-loaded, weight-gaining, boot-wearing, snow-shovelling, pot-hole  hitting season called Winter. Me being a New Englander of Scandinavian descent, you might suppose I would love the winter. And you might need a slap.
   No, this time of year when the sap starts flowing again and the maple trees get tapped for their precious treasure is a welcome relief to my weary eyes and soul. Enough white and grey awready, I wanna see blue skies and green grass! Do ye think I like taking cough syrup and carryinig tissues around?

Crocus!

   One of my fondest memories as a kid was of my old elementary school, Center-Annex in Seymour, Ct.  From my first-grade classroom, we could see out front where a forlorn Chinese cherry tree would blossom to life in a flurry of pale pink petals bursting out among the silvery-black branches. Our Art Teacher even had us portray the blessed event in construction paper.
   Good-bye, Winter! And good riddance! See ya next year!

   The signs o' Spring are everywhere now, and they're some of the things we love about life.