I know Spring is coming…

At least I think I know. The days are longer. Three days before the end of February, sunset is at 5:43 today, and after that a long twilight. And two weeks from Sunday we “Spring forward,” turn the clocks ahead one hour, and begin the long, light-filled spring and summer days.

Yesterday was warm. The snow was melting everywhere, turning some of our favorite walks into muddy puddles. I heard birdsong—prolonged calls of I-know-not-what bird, but certainly familiar spring and summer sounds. And the wind was blowing, as if it couldn’t wait for March to come in like a lion.

This year I have not minded the winter. I’ve hunkered down, begun writing again, posted about book events, and walked all over the Berkshires on every day we could get outside. We were warm, well fed, entertained by the endless movies and TV series we could watch, and books and books to read, and Zoom meetings with friends and family. But now I am ready for change.

Partly it’s because we have been among the lucky ones to have received the Covid vaccine…two shots and almost two weeks past the second and my brain is filled with possibilities of future trips, face to face visits with friends and family who have also been vaccinated. Even walking into supermarkets (masked) without concern is a treat. But I want the wide open world again. Spring promises chances to visit with people outdoors, sit and gossip over a glass of wine or a cup of coffee in an outdoor cafe, go to a museum or a botanical garden. That would make me very happy. Sigh. I can dream.