Spring is just two days away! Break out the maypole and mead. The equinox has come, the tyranny of winter is over, and we can get back to … well, the same thing we were doing in winter, summer, and autumn.Having grown up in the Bay Area, I was robbed of truly experiencing the seasons. Yes, it gets a little cold here. Occasionally it will even rain for two days. In a row no less! For an example of our seasonal deprivation, my umbrella broke from age and neglect this winter, whereas I went through two pairs of sunglasses. Go figure.
Would I like to catch frostbite in a Nor’easter or feel the lung crushing bear hug that is intense humidity? Not particularly. The other geographic locations can keep all that. But the explosive beauty of spring is lost on us out here when the entire year is spent in shorts and a t-shirt. Flowers bloom, the hills turn from dull brown to a deep green, and we complain about the pollen count or how our eyes are scratchy.
When I was younger, I use to pick blackberries in the summer. It was not just an activity, it was an event (one not entirely pleasant thanks to the more than wicked disposition of thorns and the less than durable nature of skin). But now I can buy them year round at the grocery store. No waiting necessary. Sure, there is less need for band-aids and bactine this way, but it lacks the joy of eating the first berry of the season. In truth though, I don’t even know when things are “in season” anymore.
Of course, this is all easy to say before I start sneezing or get stung by a bee. Then I’ll be longing for the days of… umm, the springish season that we call “winter”.
posted by jw
