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SpringApril 23, 2007 Through the spell of blustery weather, the bleak skies, the pelting rain, the wind that shifted continuously but rarely dropped, you could see the fields greening, beginning to glow green even though up above was unrelenting gray. Late last week the bleakness broke. Blue sky, warm sun, gentle breeze. Daffodils popped and the grass grew three inches overnight. Saturday people were grinning at each other for no reason, raising their eyebrows at anyone in a sweater. Spring really is here. The last few days have been idyllic. There's some bluster in the forecast for later this week, but we know it now: spring is here, there's no going back. I've jumped on the bandwagon, done my bit to keep the bandwagon rolling. This morning I took the flannel sheets off my bed, laundered them, hung them out to dry, and packed them away. The second comforter that covers my bed all winter -- well, OK, it's really an old camp sleeping bag, featuring the dead duck motif -- is now stowed under the bed. I'm wearing T-shirts again -- long-sleeve T-shirts, it's true, but T-shirts nonetheless. For the record, my first T of the season was the bright red one that says "I'd rather ride all day than dance all night." Saturday I washed the truck. Yesterday I washed the dog. Rhodry will have a few things to say about that; Uhura Mazda hasn't expressed an opinion. Now that the winter and early spring mud is gone from her hide, I'm thinking of touch-up paint to disguise her scratches, if only I can figure out which of the numbers on the metal plate in her door jamb are the color code I need to order the paint. Rhodry now seeks out shady places for his midday snoozes: our sunny east-facing deck is uncomfortably warm. At our old place he favored the dirt under the front steps, although that took some agility to get in and out of, or Uhura's ample shadow. Here he's got plenty of shade under the deck. He's also got more cool floor space indoors than he did at Dunham Ave., where everything was carpeted except the bathroom. At the barn the horses are shedding but what else is new -- shedding is a sign less of spring than of lengthening days. Even Allie's been at it since the equinox. The big sign is that I've removed the heated water tubs, scrubbed the unheated troughs in the paddocks (they're actually double sinks that have been put to good use), and filled them with water. In this morning's laundry I washed the fleece cover that insulates my schooling helmet all winter. Two horses are still wearing light blankets or sheets. Allie hasn't worn hers in weeks, but I haven't put it away yet. This may be the year it gets cleaned first. Mud season seems to have come and gone early this year. Here's to a warm and leisurely spring before the summer invasion starts in earnest. I haven't spotted my first moped of the season, but I'm sure it's out there. Until I see it, I can believe that spring will roll on forever.
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