Ahhh, spring is here. At least where I live, spring is here.
The snowbanks have receeded, I can once again cross the street where I damn well please.
The trees still look like the dead ones you see in spooky Halloween-esque flicks and there are no signs of life quite yet, but soon that'll change.
The grass is still colored in yellows and browns and most boulevards are still covered in sand that was initially put down to help reduce slipperiness of snowy, icy winter roads. The last leaves to fall before the snow came down last year are still plastered to the grasses and it's too wet to rake them off.
The pre-teen kids are out on the residential streets with their skateboards and wooden ramps, brushing up on last year's tricks while working on new ones and introducing the up-and-coming kids (you know, the 8-10 year olds) to the basics. I smile at them and wave a "thank you" when they get out of the way without me having to slow my car down too much.
It's readily apparent who stopped mowing their lawn 6-8 weeks before the first snowfall, and their delay will cost them many hours of yardwork once it dries up a little. Good thing it's this time of year that folks around here don't mind having to have a little bit more to keep them going while outside. It's spring, after all.
This year my spring doesn't include yardwork for the first time in just under a decade, because I'm living in an apartment block instead of a house. This year my spring will include exploration of my new neighborhood, it's wee shops, restaurants and varying social venues.
I'm especially in need of finding some neat little "hole in the wall" restaurants that I can bring back to my friends as little treats for us to experience. We've all lived in this city for so long, it's nice to find little neat places none of us knew about before.
How's your spring progressing? And if you're on the other side of the equator, how's the gearing up for autumn coming along?