grown accustomed to the daily grind

Spring has arrived!

Up here in New England, it means that we only have to suffer through one or two more surprise snowstorms before the traditional six weeks of rain segue into a three month long heat wave. The five or six non-consecutive gorgeous spring days in between make it all worth it, however. Moderation is important, lest the joys of balmy weather make us forget our hard-won regional survival skills. Imagine the chaos that would result if folks round these parts suddenly began to use turn signals or were to strike up friendly conversations with strangers instead of giving them the customary wary look.

There’s still snow from last weekend’s storm on the ground at the moment, although it appears to be melting rapidly, but I did see a couple of robins bob-bob-bobbin’ along in our backyard this morning. It won’t really feel like spring until the cherry tree on our patio starts to blossom. Eventually its roots are going to take out the retaining wall and the whole tree will come crashing down the hill, but the view from the kitchen window while the tree is in bloom is simply breathtaking.

The Lemon Drops – I Live in the Springtime (from the Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era box set, 1998) – Psychedelic flavor, garage rock production.

Slow Children – Spring in Fialta (from Slow Children, 1981) – Nabokov gets a new wave makeover.

Finally, I leave you with the MST3K version of an educational film created to combat the rampant anti-springitism prevalent in 1940’s America. (Ok, it’s about the object by that name and not the season, but who cares? It’s got Coily the Spring Sprite!)