SPRING MUST BE IN THE AIR
By Tom Vartabedian

/08/vartabedian-spring-must-be-in-the-air/
March 8, 2010

Sure sign of spring. The crocuses are peeking out over my turf. Or
so it seems.

To be honest about it, I never knew what a crocus was until a reader
called the paper one day in early March to inform me. I hightailed it
out to her house and two little buds were sticking out of the ground.

A photo of the woman pointing to the tiny sprouts wound up in the
next day’s edition.

I am not the most observant fellow when it comes to these matters,
but I have noticed the snow begin to disappear and nature lovers out
in full force, looking at birds and flowers. A cardinal showed up at
my feeder the other morning, no doubt a harbinger of spring. And the
robins are beginning to appear.

If nothing else, it makes me feel good about the whole experience.

After a hard winter’s snow and cold, I was looking for symptoms of
spring. It’s the one season of the year when everything seems to
come alive.

Trees and shrubs begin their blossom. Home-owners begin planting
their grass, only to spend the summer months behind a lawn mower.

My neighbor is big into birds and when he tells me he observed a
scarlet tanager that afternoon, it’s news. With regard to ornithology,
I only know two birds. One is a cardinal-and the other isn’t.

Truth be told, I like New England best for its seasons. There’s
something to be said for each one. Summers are usually ideal when
families get together for cookouts and reunions. Autumn comes alive
with its foliage bursting with color. Winters can offer its sense of
beauty, especially with a snow-capped tree after a fresh fall.

But spring will officially arrive on March 21-and not a moment
too soon.

I saw some teenagers the other day walking home from school in the
cold. They were dressed in short sleeves like it was May. Perhaps
they were celebrating spring’s arrival a bit early.

But that was not the case.

"It’s not cool to bundle up anymore," I was told. "Today’s generation
dresses light. They’d rather freeze to death than be seen in a winter
coat and parka."

Now that I’ve been retired three years, I don’t need to be working to
ask for a day off. Every day is spring in my life. I used to blame
my inertia on spring fever, whenever I got lazy and didn’t want to
heed the call. In school, it was the mating call.

Along with the season comes a list of household chores waiting to
be addressed. Let’s put a fresh coat of paint on our bedroom walls,
clear out the basement, and get the yard in order. Another sure sign
is the papers I receive through the mail for my income tax. It always
sends my head in a tizzy. On the other hand, with Daylight Savings
Time set to begin March 14, an extra hour of daylight is bound to
have a calming effect.

The other day, we started our spring cleaning and the windows were
wide open. It was 50 degrees outside, hardly the comfort zone. My
wife enjoys accelerating the seasons.

"I’m getting rid of all the germs that have accumulated in this house
over the winter," she brought out. "Suck it all in."

I assumed she meant the fresh air and not the bacteria.

With Easter a month away, out came the bunny rabbits and other
artifacts associated with spring. The house was suddenly undergoing
a transformation, designed to make us all feel a bit better.

Soon the golf courses will be agog with activity and the kids will
be playing their baseball in the fields. Oysters will be disappearing
from restaurant menus and the first timid appearance of the asparagus
will be digested with melted butter.

It won’t be long before I’ll be out on the lake fishing to my
heart’s content and playing a little b-ball with the boys. It used
to be one-on-one, but is now reduced to a less vigorous game of
foul-shooting.

The greenhouses will open and spring planting will ensue.

Tell me, is there anything better than that springtime stroll along
the beach or perhaps that short hike in the mountains where the air
is still cool but refreshing.

I’m as sensitive to the first call of spring as any of my nature
fellows. But for the kind of spring that needs a biology textbook to
interpret it, I have little use.

About the best thing we can all say about spring is that the season
comes along when it is most needed.