As I Was Saying ...

I really like spring. Actually, I don't really like spring, I really like what spring brings. Spring is actually kind of cold and muddy and reveals the detritus of things winter-dumped or left from fall, snow slowly peeling back its stripper's skirt to flash the varicose veined leg of a debutant-no-more. But the skin is still warm and the leg reflects the longing of what was and, re-generationally, what can be again.

Ultimately, I like spring because it brings summer. I live in a place which sees high temperatures of 60 or more about half the year. I am either a glutton for punishment or I just explained why summer is such a big deal (both days). In my enjoyment of spring, the observation of change is probably my favorite component.

Today was again a good day to prove that spring is here. The ice on the bay continues to succumb to adjacent water temperatures like rice-crispy bars left out. There is the steady increase of birds and the increase of bird activity. This morning I noticed shreds of insulation snowed on the ground, ripped from some cavity by the incredible aggression of Starlings doing due diligence on their next crevice of real estate. The crows are also all hitched in their giddy-up and two of them treed a significantly larger red tail hawk in the biggest maple on the south fence row. He eventually tired of their incessant critique and made a swoop for it but only cleared the last bare branch by a couple of feet before they dropped from upper perches to run him across to the woodlot across the field.

And driving home showed that Susan was out raking the lawn in front of her immaculate horse barn (with two new spring foals outside for the first time), Glen's RV was home from the four month trip he takes with his wife every December (I have to see if he still has the remainder of firewood I was supposed to take before he left), and Rick and Jan's Frisians are out on the ridge to the north of their barn, a silhouetted spot they will own until snowfall, gorgeous ambassadors to all who cut short on the county road to avoid the highway traffic. I think they should get an oat commission from the tourist board.

At home we gathered blown junk from the yard and did a quick burn, giving the wandering fire fingers some leeway to clear old grass and weed. I might end up burning a bunch of the yard this spring. I'd like to throw some more seed down and, since I did almost no lawn mowing last year (our first year with a pseudo lawn), there are some non-grass things in the lawn that look more tree-like than fescue. I'd like to clear some of that out. And this year I think I'll put in a patio. On an evening like this, I wish I already had one. On a night like this, sitting outside watching the sun set, things once possible suddenly seem almost fait accompli. I love the promise of spring.