busy days

We have a thermometer on the wall of our kitchen. It's been there (I think) since the house was first built, reporting on how cold or warm it is outside at that moment. When the needle is pointing directly up, it's 40 degrees. And for months, the needle has mostly leaned to the left. Or even pointed downward to the below zero numbers. Always to the left, barring a few warm afternoons here at there. It's become a kind of joke in our house. of the "is it ever going to warm up?" variety. "Maybe it's stuck!" we say, rubbing our arms or pulling on a sweater. "Maybe it only reads cold temperatures!"  "Maybe it will never get warm again!"

So I was surprised, this morning, to glance at it as I made coffee and find that it was, just barely but quite distinctly, to the right of 40. And when I looked at the forecast I found that even at night, this week our temperatures will be staying to the right. Spring, it seems, has finally arrived.

And suddenly, we are busy with springy kinds of things. Soccer practices and gardens to build. A chicken coop that is outside but still not quite done. A beehive that needs to be in place in a few days for the arrival of it's residents. Porch windows need to be taken down, dead wood needs to be dragged off of paths, vegetables and grass and flowers need to be planted. The rainwater redirection project needs to be completed. The lake needs to be visited. We need to catch some peepers and look for tadpoles and get ready for spring concerts and cut the dogs hair because she's starting to get hot and grumpy with her winter coat. So much. So many projects. I feel a little like we've been hibernating, and now we are awake and starving after a long winter. Time to go and do and plant. It's hard, sometimes, to remember to slow down and enjoy the spring, to not be overwhelmed by the projects that are piling up all around us, because it's spring. But it is spring. Glorious, warm(ish) sunny spring. And it needs to be enjoyed.