This Is More Like It

Now THIS feels more like it! Welcome to spring!

I know the calendar said March 20th was the first day of spring but, as it usually does, the weather didn’t quite feel like it until yesterday.

Yesterday was a great day when you could get outside without extra layers, maybe without a jacket, if you were brave. I saw several people wearing shorts and short sleeves: can’t say I’m ready for that yet but hey, whatever floats your boat.

We took the dogs for a walk and it was nice to actually visit with some neighbors to see how their winter had been. My neighborhood is like that. Most of us like to stop and chat but we all seem to disappear in the winter.

I saw people out working in their yards raking weeds and branches and getting the flower beds ready. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some sore backs today after using muscles that haven’t been used for a few months.

My wife and I joke about how you can tell when the weather shifts. We walk just about every day and at this time of year there can be a chill in the breeze but at some point, it shifts and the breeze doesn’t seem so bad.

I know we’re not out of the woods yet and there are some colder days coming next week but at least yesterday let’s us know that it’s not far away.

I’ve been working on a high school baseball/softball preview and I saw some parents at the fields all bundled up as they got ready to watch their children play. I remember those days. If your child is a role player who spends time on the bench it helps to pack a blanket of two with their glove. And when my daughter was a pitcher we would get a big box of hand warmers for her to take and put one in her back pocket. Hard to throw a breaking ball if you can’t feel your fingers.

I did a little research today as I seemed to remember when I was on the radio I had a story about a meteorolist in the Berkshires who knew what it was all about.

George Bulgarelli passed away about ten years ago. He was a weatherman in Berkshire County going back to the late ’40s. He developed something called the “Bulgarelli Spring.” His daughter Diane recently described it: “Weather patterns in the Berkshires are very distinct. And in the spring, many times, there would be a thaw, and then more winter weather.” George felt that spring really didn’t arrive until three weeks after the calendar said it was here. So following that logic we really have until April 10th before we turn the corner.

Maybe yesterday was a bonus. Accuweather says Monday and Tuesday will be back in the 40s. Don’t forget my warning when watching the news at night: When they say, “Tomorrow we might hit 60,” look for that little note on the bottom of the graphic that says “Cooler on the coast,” or “Cape mid 40s.”

Soon the grass will turn green and the trees will bloom. It is nice to see the early flowers though and I see it as a sign. A sign that says, “We survived another winter my friend!”