Ah, Spring--How You Taunt Us

Why do I keep believing in the mythical version of spring as a season of gentle rain showers; warm, sunny days; and smiling bunnies hopping about nibbling grass? Why, despite several years of bitter experience, am I still surprised that spring in upstate New York is more likely to involve gale-force winds; cold, raw days; and dead bunnies being eaten by our dogs?

Perhaps because the mythical version is more appealing? Yeah.

This weekend was a typical spring weekend. That is, unpredictable. The only constant was the wind, which blew furiously all weekend, accompanied sometimes by sun, sometimes by driving rain, most of the time with clouds. Yesterday was cold and cloudy and horribly windy all day. And where were WE during this wretched weather? Why, down on the beach, of course! Because the wind wasn't blowing hard enough up at the house--we felt we wanted to be MORE exposed to it.

Actually, we were down there all afternoon because SOMEONE got his truck totally stuck in the lake gravel damn near IN the lake, and we were employing various boards and winches in an attempt to save Big Red from the massive waves.

It was about as fun as surgery without anesthesia. A. got the worst of it, though, because he was the one groveling around in the water and doing all the shoveling and winching. I didn't feel bad about that, however, as it was a situation of his own making.

Anyway, he got Big Red out after about four hours of work, and then slogged his weary, cold way back to the house. Where he sat by the woodstove trying to ward off a chill and certain illness.

Oh yes, the woodstove was burning yesterday. I can't be sure, of course, but this could be the last fire of the season. Which means the woodstove season has lasted seven and a half months, because the first fire was on September 27. That's a lot of wood.

But I have faith that soon I can clean the woodstove out for the last time, black it, and then forget about it for at least three months. If I'm lucky. And if spring stops toying with us.