The week started off warmer. Much warmer. The temperature rose over 50 F on Monday, the piles of snow shrank. We skied on Tuesday and did not freeze for the first time this season. It was wonderful.

The small, transplanted pine peaked above a drift that had covered it for the past several weeks.

The white covering on top of roofs got thinner.

By Tuesday's sunset, snow suffocated mailboxes became usable again.

The tapping trails were packed by a tracked ATV. Maple tree tapping will occur soon.

Last October, we used peanut butter to try to coax local squirrels into carving a pumpkin. Didn't work. Instead of peanut butter, we should have just plopped one into a snow bank. That seems to work just fine.

Near the end of each passing season, the personality of the period becomes more clear. Last Summer was a bit of an introvert, the Summer before that was clearly an extrovert. Spring is almost always optimistic and Fall tends to have a pessimistic streak. The Winter of 2013-2014 is a big jerk. Loud, aggressive and seemingly endless, Winter is pushing the maple syrup season, ice-out, and early golf into Summer. Spring needs to confront this bully of a season or face possible demotion. Spring may laugh at this now but should be reminded of the lesson of Pluto, the now dwarf planet. If this continues, the year would have 3 major seasons and then a few dwarf ones like Spring, Fummer and Thaw. Maybe the demotion of Spring will give Summer the spine to stand up to this big jerk of a Winter.

-Nemo, still sore from drilling a hole in the ice                                                                                                               Previous  Next