Hurry Spring!

It’s definitely time for summer to get here. We need to open the windows, do the grand manage (aka spring cleaning), and change the air. I’ve got yet another cold, my second one in two months. Either that, or my allergies are really acting up. Anyhow, a beautifully warm, spring day would be great to open some windows and refresh things.

I’m so tired of being cold. Although it’s been in the mid to low 30’s lately, there is still a cold, brisk breeze that cuts through you and the evenings are still in the high teens and low twenties. I miss sitting in the backyard letting the heat from the sun warm my skin. I know what they say about sun tanning, but there’s nothing like having the sun warm my soul. Yesterday, I was heading over to visit my parents, twenty minutes away, and had the sun hitting on me the entire drive there. It felt so good! It made me anxious for summer even more. It will be nice to walk out of the house to head somewhere without having to put on layers of clothing. Just slip on some flip-flops, grab my purse and keys, and off I go.

We’ve since finished off our wood to heat our home, and are now using oil until fall. There is such a difference in the heat. The cellar is much cooler than before, and I dread going down there to do the laundry. Not one of my favorite places to go. I’ll tell you, though; nothing beats the warmth you get from a fire in the stove. I so loved throwing wood in there and watching the flames lick along the sides of the log, melting away the bark. The heat felt so good, especially when we had double digits below zero a couple of months ago. Those days were brutal, but we made it. Our Husky, Bandit, appreciated coming into the warm cellar during those nights to get away from the cold. He also loved the warm meals we’d give him to warm him up from the inside, too.

We still have plenty of snow out there, but I’ve noticed that the sun has been doing its job. The six-foot high snow banks at the edge of my parent’s driveway were starting to recede. I could actually see any oncoming traffic before the back end of my Focus was in the road. There is hope! Sorry for the cynicism, but by the time the Spring Equinox arrives, spring fever has struck me so hard that I begin to really dread more snow and cold. I’m finished with the winter sports of skiing (which I don’t really enjoy) and snowshoeing. Now, I’m so looking forward to taking long hikes in the potato fields behind my house, riding bike along the lake, and long walks on my road, and of course, lying in the warm sun in something small soaking in the heat.

Snow

Snow. Tiny, six-sided crystals of water that glisten like diamonds when the sun is shining, sparkling like glitter that have been scattered all over the ground. It can be light and fluffy, blowing easily in the slightest breeze, or wet and heavy, weighing down the trees and their branches. In the beginning of the season, snow has a magical quality that everyone can appreciate, but as the winter drags on, and the more it accumulates, the less it holds its charm. By mid-January we begin to get tired of this white stuff. On warm days, it changes quality and can turn to a dirty, salty, slushy-brown mush that stains your pant legs when you walk, dirties up your shoes, creating a salt mark on leather, and sticks to the bottom half of your car.

There’s a time for snow. From November to January it’s almost necessary to have snow to help create the magical ambiance of Thanksgiving, the miraculous enchantment of Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, and exciting allure of New Year’s Eve. However, after months of bi-weekly snowstorms that close schools and bury cars in the driveways and parking lots, with thirty-mile per hour winds and sub-zero, double-digit temperatures, we’re ready for spring when mid-March comes around.

As a child, I always wanted snow for my birthday, which is in mid-November. If I awoke to the scene of snow on the rooftops and lawns it would make my day. Even to this day it I feel a special little-girl feeling if there’s snow on the ground on my birthday, like Mother Nature giving me a little gift just for me. However, after the holidays have passed the need for the charm is gone. Come mid-March, it’s time for the snow to start disappearing. I’ve seen years when there’s still snow on the ground up until May! I read the blogs that others have written about how they have flowers blooming and the snow has melted and such, and I’m so jealous! But, in spite of the snow season lasting so long, I do love Northern Maine and wouldn’t move anywhere else, willingly of course, for the world.