Ah, spring

Spring is an iffy time of year in the northern climates. We sometimes have it, and often don't. What will happen is we'll get a few weeks of warming temperatures, then we'll get a snowstorm. I remember it snowing on Mother's Day once, and then it was 70 degrees the following week. It wrecked havoc with the spring-flowering bulbs, I can tell you.

I think, for me, spring is when I put away my mittens and gloves. Those are about the last item of winter clothing for me to put away. I'll tuck away the heavy sweaters, sweatshirts, and turtlenecks, but will keep the gloves around well into May, for those cold mornings when I drive to work.

When we do have spring, it is a fleeting time, often just weeks long. We seem to go from blizzard to heat wave, all in a month or so. In June the mosquito season starts, and we're effectively done with gardening, so May is spring to me. It's still too cold in April to do much in the garden, so May is when the garden is prepped, the annuals are put in, the summer veggies are set out, and the perennials are planted. I can sometimes get a start in late April, but the ground is still so cold that my hands get numb (see note above about mittens).

No, early May is spring. Right now we're in Spring Fever. It was 60 degrees today, and sunny. You should have seen all the people walking around the lakes (we have many here in town with walking trails). Forget the mucky paths, and the melting snow and the dog bombs scattered here and there -- it felt great to get out and feel the sun on the face, the warm breeze, and pretend it was almost spring.

We might get snow tomorrow.

But that's tomorrow.