March 11, 2012

Forward Without the Spring

Sure, there are hints that spring is lurking, but sometimes it’s hard to see them through all the raindrops. Sometimes when I squint, I can see it on the horizon, but then I step outside into 38 degree temperatures and rain mixed with snow and all fantasies of springing forward fly from my head like a 1000 crows against a gray gray sky.

So when Gretchen informed me that we needed to move our clocks ahead one hour because it was springtime, I gave her quite a skeptical look. Truly, I thought she was joking. “Have you looked outside recently?” I asked her.

“Rubin,” she informed me. “You can’t judge the seasons by the weather.”

Dumbfounded I asked, “Uh, why not? Isn’t that how time is organized? Around the seasons and don’t we measure the seasons by the weather?”

“Actually,” she said — which is her polite way of correcting my by using the word actually, “It’s more the temperature and the position of the sun that determines both the time and the seasons.”

“Well, the temperature is cold and the sun is non-existent so what does that tell us?”

She had to admit I had a point.

But no matter. The clocks lost an hour and so did we and meanwhile the cold rain came down and the skies played a came of gray on gray.

Spring is here. If only conceptually.

Our week, as you can imagine, was filled with wetness and long walks through puddles under foliage dripping with the remnants of winter.

I suppose what makes me the most confused is that the middle of the week provided us with the essential marker of spring — the smell. It was warm and sunny on Tuesday and Wednesday, which made me forget all about the incredibly wet weather on Monday (we didn’t even take our camera on that day) and the equally wet weather on Thursday – Sunday.

Those temporary spring-like flare ups are disorienting. Just when I’m ready to let my heart soar into Spring freeing it from the shackles of winter, WHAM! Winter jumps on top of Spring and laughs devilishly and we must wade through more mud before we can believe in the new season.

But work must go on. There are dogs to walk and it really doesn’t matter what the weather is like outside, duty calls and answer we must.

In addition to our daily duties, though, we did some dog sitting this week as well. Rosie and Tyson. We stayed at their house, but they also hung out at our house and let me tell you, these two made themselves at home.

Okay, I’ll admit it — I have a lot of comfortable places to sleep (dog beds in every room) and I am also allowed on the bed and couches, but I didn’t think those privileges extended to other dogs.

Apparently they do. Rosie preferred the living room couch, especially while Ann worked on her report cards (another sign of Spring, by the way) and Tyson preferred the TV room couch, especially if Ann was working on her report cards (yes, I know…sounds like she is in more than one place at a time, but you’d have to be here to understand it all).

Meanwhile, I begrudgingly curled up on one of my beds and waited until we could go on a walk because frankly, that’s my favorite way to spend time with Rosie and Tyson.

But Gretchen says learning to share is a good springtime activity for me though she didn’t care to elaborate as to why sharing and spring went together, which made me think that perhaps she was pulling the wool over my eyes.

…which isn’t a bad idea…wool…it’s warm and in this “false” springtime, a bit of warmth sounds kind of inviting.

And so we spring forward — losing an hour and waiting for warmth. May she arrive soon!

Rubin

One Reply to “March 11, 2012”

  1. Rubin, you’re right, no matter what G told you. There’s only a certain amount of daylight each day, no matter what humans call it, Daylight Savings or Standard, one o’clock or five-thirty. The sun ticks across the sky, the earth twirls – now those are true measurements of time! Granted the days are becoming longer and the weather inching up a degree or two, but I agree with you – Spring is definitely not here. I dislike those teaser days just as much as you do. And just like you, I measure Spring by smell, or lack thereof. Spring is when the evergreen pollens sweep through the air in yellow clouds and cause my eyes to run and my nose to sneeze. And that hasn’t happened yet. But it’s coming, we just have to be patient. Now I’ve gotta go fix breakfast. I’m an hour late, ’cause somebody moved the clock forward.

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