Is Spring Just Around the Corner?

By Liz Page

CATSKILL REGION – There are times I wonder why people love springtime so much. I get the idea of renewal, things coming alive and growing and all that, but do the Daffodils really have to be frozen and snowed under to make them appreciated more?

Maple syruping season is drawing to an end, the Snow Drop flowers have run their course and the daffodils are blooming in some places, but not in others. There are reports that some have seen crocus in bloom. They are said to appear as soon as the snow melts and warmer temperatures arrive. Well, they are a little late this year, even though spring is official on the calendar (March 21).

There was a taste of what lies ahead on Monday as temperatures soared into the 60's locally. But, so far, there have been only a few brief bouts of nice warm weather.

Some said last winter was a more typical winter, due to the snow and especially the cold temperatures. "It's been more like the winters we used to have...."

So, maybe this spring will be more typical of the ones we used to have. We won’t jump from winter to summer, but will have spring, a period of uncertainty weather-wise.

I celebrate my birthday in April and more than once, I was cold, or snowed on, or freezing rained on for my special day. I remember one birthday when my friend Doris Thayer bought me a kite for my birthday and said she wanted me to show her how to fly it. It was a ruse to get me out of the house so they could prep for my birthday party. We started out in warmth and sunshine, but as soon as we got the kite as far out as it could go on the string, we were hit with a snow squall. By the time we got the kite reeled back in and got back to the house we were both soaking wet and freezing. That is spring weather.

Next up is Easter, which falls late in the month this year. Easter brings the promise of spring as well. More than once as a child I remember getting all of my Easter finery. In those days you got a new dress for church, patent leather shoes, white socks, a nice little spring jacket and sometimes a hat and little white gloves. Some people are laughing now, because a lot of the people reading this probably don't remember the times when people actually got dressed in "their Sunday best". You didn't want to wear those nice new shoes in the snow and that little spring jacket wasn't going to cut the frigid cold breeze. Sometimes you had to hold your Easter finery for another time and revert back to cold weather gear.

I also don't remember Easter egg hunts, when I was a child but I would have loved them. We probably didn't have them because mom and dad couldn't find any good hiding spots with a cover of snow. Easter egg hunts now have a rain date and several are scheduled around the region. And those were the springs of old. This year may be more like them. At least the temperatures are coming up gradually, with a few blasts of wind chilled cold air to remind us not to put the heavy clothes away just yet.

Tuesday was April Fool's Day, April 1, which used to be the opening day of trout season. You can now catch them all year, however, you can't keep them, you have to release them. The state Department of Environmental Conservation now calls it Spring Trout Season. Now you can keep them if they are legal size. Alex Roberts caught a 16-inch trout on Tuesday near Delhi. He said there were just a few fishermen braving the cold with him. Cliff Mueller gave it a 10-minute shot it was so cold, with wind chills in the morning making it feel like single digits.

So as we check off each milestone of spring, many of us are hopeful some warmer weather is not far off into the future and that soon all the daffodils will have bloomed and we will be able to wear our "Sunday best" without freezing.

The six weeks more of winter predicted by the groundhog is over, so spring really can arrive anytime. And speaking of groundhogs, they were out and about this week digging out their tunnels and prepping for a new season.

Next up is Spring Turkey Season, May 1, mowing the lawn and black flies.