Signs Of Something

by Brendan Smith
Weirs Times Editor

It has been a long time coming but I think…I think…spring has finally arrived. Some folks see spring as a time of renewal, some see it as the boring time in between winter and summer.
No matter how you look at it, the signs of the changing season are all around us.
The obvious ones, like buds on the trees and the sweet sounds of birds chirping in the morning sun, are the ones we welcome with relish. They remind us that, even though things are a little drab at the moment, it won’t be long until summer is here.
There are other obvious signs as well, not all that are as gratifying.
I would imagine not all of my signs of spring are the same as yours. You may have your own.
For example.
I know that spring is officially here when the leaves that I forgot (wink) to rake up in the fall and were eventually covered up by the first snowfall (which took its own darn time in getting here….sheesh) have now once again been exposed. My bluff called once again.
I know that spring is officially here when the first fireworks explosion, of what will be many until the cold of late fall, suddenly breaks the silence around 9:30pm on a quiet April evening just as I am drifting off to sleep. Like the leaves about to bud on the trees, this is just the beginning.
I know that spring is officially here when every single, possible route to work (and there are more than a few) holds a warning that there is a “Single Lane Ahead”. Those that suggest I “Find An Alternate Route” are obviously blind to the fact that I did just that after being informed to do the same thing only a few short minutes ago and that is why I am where I am at that moment in time.
I know that spring is officially here when the 14 items or less sign at the supermarket checkout is now only merely suggestions on the weekends. (Obviously a strange New Hampshire custom that our spring visitors have a hard time adjusting to.)
I know that spring is officially here when the TV weather forecast gets me excited about temperatures possibly reaching into the 70s, only to be disappointed the next day when they barely make it to the low 40s because of a “stubborn cold front” that just wouldn’t budge. Of course, I turn on the weather the next day only hoping to get fooled again.
I know that spring is officially here when I watch the news broadcast a story about an 85-year old man who is preparing to run in his fifty-fifth Boston Marathon while I am enjoying my second chocolate covered cream filled donut for breakfast.
I know that spring is officially here when many of us, myself included, keep a careful watch on when the ice finally goes out on Lake Winnipesaukee, even though we probably will rarely, if at all, use the lake all summer. There’s really not that much to do in the spring, I guess.
I know that spring is officially here when there is nothing but shorts and golf shirts for sale at the local clothing store even though it is below freezing in the morning and barely above forty the rest of the day.
I know that spring is officially here when my oil burner only kicks on about seven or eight times a day.
I know that spring is officially here when my mind, lacking for sufficient fresh air during the winter months, is fooled into thinking that forty-nine degrees is actually a warm day. (This is the same mind that, being overly oxygenated in the summer, thinks the same forty-nine degrees is “freezing” in the fall.)
I know that spring is officially here when I keep both a snow shovel and a rake at the ready, never knowing which one I will need the next day.
I know that spring is officially here when I dig out my collection of summer shorts from the closet and try to figure out how in the heck they shrunk so much over the winter. (They haven’t even been washed.)
I know that spring is officially here when I can’t think of much else to write about except signs of spring.
What is your favorite sign of spring? Drop me a note and let me know.
I know you don’t have that much to do at the moment.
Happy Spring?

Brendan is the author of “The Flatlander Chronicles” and “Best Of A F.O.O.L. In New Hampshire” available on his website BrendanTSmith.com

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