Welcome Back Spring

You know all of those blogs I have written in the past month or so saying how this winter will never end and I would either die with my tongue stuck to a metal fence post or that the very air in my lungs would freeze solid? Well, I think that spring is finally here.

Oh, there will inevitably be more cold and another snowfall or two, but for the most part winter is over for another year. Now I can start to complain about the pot holes in the roads and how the city isn’t filling them fast enough. I will probably complain that the city is taking far too long sweeping the winter gravel from the streets, making it dangerous for cyclists. I don’t think I will be complaining about the heat, but time will tell.

With the warm weather comes the melting snow of course. The alleys are small rivers of run off and the gutters of the streets are racing to the sewers. Whenever I can, I send leaf boats sailing down to the sewers. They very seldom make it all the way, often getting caught up on an old discarded shoe, a paper coffee cup or a particularly heavy build up of gravel. I haven’t checked yet, but I bet there are a few brave buds starting to peek out to see if they can send the all clear to the rest of the trees and bushes.

Maybe the surest signs of spring are little boys and girls in rubber boots and coats that are undone. They are found throughout the city splashing in puddles and getting mud from their heels to their hips. They are tossing snowballs into large puddles and then chasing after them to crush them underfoot. They are testing to see if the puddle is indeed deeper than their rubber boots are tall. The smaller kids are finding just how cold water that was snow just hours before is. Noses are running and fingers and toes are freezing, but it is a different kind of cold. It’s Springtime cold!

I took Hurricane and Tornado out to the park after supper tonight and they didn’t let me down. They are absolutely and definitely boys caught up in springtime fun. The park was still half covered in snow and the playground equipment was too cold for ungloved hands. There were large piles of dirty snow that ended in a deep pool of very cold water. No warning or threat held any sway over them. I just stood back and watched the joy that boots and cold water can bring.

Boots, socks and pants can dry, and fingers, noses and toes warm up pretty quickly under a blanket in front of a good movie with a big bowl of popcorn and a drink. All is right with the world.

Welcome back Spring!