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Sunday, April 3, 2011

April 03, 2011: Goodbye Winter
























Yesterday was sunny and blue skies, light so bright it hurt my old cataract winter eyes. For the first day this year I sat on the bench with a cigar and lit up. The pug wandered off a little to find the sunniest spot in the world to lay down and catch a nap. Lorna came down and sat with me a while, but moved away from my drifting cigar smudge to sit on the north low wall, her back to the cow tank, a galvanized one time fish tank - that is, before the infamous raccoon incident last Fall. Lorna bathed her face in the pure sunshine, following it like a sunflower, claiming that 14 minutes would give her her daily requirement of vitamin D - note, not 13 minutes nor 15 minutes, but 14. ??? Who decides these things, the Bureau of Minutes and Hours? I thought that all of the 1410 snow would surely melt, but the last of it was still lurking in the north shade of the arborvitae.  

Today was an overcast 70 degrees, a weathered wood and metal day - steel, lead and aluminum with occasional hints of stainless steel and driftwood - a chilling breeze blowing across the mushy gray ice still covering most of Oakwood Bay. Still, I thought the warming temperature would certainly melt off the last of the tenacious snow clinging in the garden. Late in the day I went down to the bench to fire up another maduro and work on my primary occupation these days - filing and sanding the burrs and flash off a set of vintage C.L.B. bar-end city brakes. Over by the birdbath there were still three small clumps of snow hanging to life. It's supposed to be cold and rainy tomorrow, even possible snow flurries, but the next time I wander down to the garden the real winter snow will be gone.  We may even get a few inches of sticky snow in a late storm, but that will be Spring snow. We are done with Winter. The door is closed. So saith the new Spring robin from atop the overgrown lilac that protects the garden steps.   

5 comments:

Jonny Hamachi said...

Looks like there's work to be done. It'll keep you young, to see another Spring.

Classic.

Johann Rissik said...

Would it be considered unsporting to have gone and pissed on those last little heaps of snow in order to melt them? As in, "come on guys, you've had your chance?".
This is going to be a big summer, new bike and all.

Gunnar Berg said...

The work this Spring is almost overwhelming,what with rebuilding the slope where the trees came out, getting ruts in the lawn filled and a foundation under the "new" shed.

"Pose I could have pissed them off, but everything has it's time and this morning they're gone anyway.

George A said...

Glad to hear that you're finally warming up. 65 degrees here at 4:30 this morning--the high temp of the day just before big rain squalls moved through. Several tornado warnings but I still have 'lectric!

George in Maryland

Gunnar Berg said...

Ebb and flow. 28 degrees this morning.