While this past winter may not have been the longest on record, it would be hard to convince us of that. It was the icing on the cake when the official start of spring arrived at 6:45 p.m. last Friday, followed quickly by a snow shower. And another one the next morning.
This year, except for the change in the sunlight, you could fool us that spring is here. Friends from other parts of the country send Facebook photos of flowering shrubs and remind us of how long our winter lasts. There may be sun and 50-degree temperatures in the forecast, but it’s hard to keep the bright promise of springtime at the forefront in the midst of the non-stop sound of the furnace.
But if nothing else works, congratulate yourself on having just about gotten through an old fashioned, northern New England winter. Now, when old-timers talk about the winters of long ago, you can offer your own experiences and snowfall depths. And if nothing else makes you feel better, at least we aren’t dealing with the 25 feet of ice off the coast of Nova Scotia.
So we rejoice over finally being able to see the bare patches of brown leaves left over at the edge of the lawn from last fall, we look forward to having soggy mud replace the treacherous ice patches in the driveway, and we smile when the temperature rises above freezing. We may even haul out a lawn chair and sit outside, however briefly, as that March sun shines down, even though we’re still bundled up in gloves and sweaters.
And we never fail to look toward the future. We know mud season is coming when the basement starts to flood. And when the mud and water finally fade away, we’re visited by black flies.
But as stalwart New Englanders, we’ll get through all that and get down to the business of waiting for the weather to warm up so we can enjoy the summer, however brief. There will be a summer this year, won’t there?
Those of us who stick it out during the ever-extending winter know that blue skies and warm weather are just around the corner, and summer isn’t far behind. Right? But can we please have a little bit of spring first?