Green!

No, not the faux-environmentalism as displayed by Saturday night's moronic "Earth Hour". Not even the sweet, sweet green of cold, hard American cash. No, I mean the green of spring. The rush of chlorophyll back into the blades of grass still remaining on my lawn; the ritual defeat of old man winter as the seasons turn yet again.

Started noticing lawns with just a hint of the green; less than your average "Irish" pub about a week and a half ago, but some green nonetheless. It's a heartening sight; made even more welcome by the decidely wintry temperatures while out and about yesterday - mid-30s, "global warming" notwithstanding.

The winter blahs are on their way out; snow only lingers in the giant mounds of supermarket parking lots and shaded woods. The brown of late winter has been washed away; early spring rains and thawing have scoured the roadways clear of winter's funk. It's a welcome change, one as inevitable as the taxes we fill out this time of year but certainly more enjoyable.

With the coming of spring, there are many new challenges. The winter's storms brought down many branches that must be collected for burning. The camper needs to be de-winterized. The cars need to be inspected. The coming rains demand an ever-vigilant eye for the sump pump tasked with keeping the basement from turning into an indoor pool.

Again.

But not all of the challenges are so difficult. There's the happy challenge of making time to get the Harley out of winter storage. There's a new bicycle to be obtained for The Boy, as he's sprouted at least two or three feet over the winter and looks rather comical on last year's bike. AA Baseball starts in a couple of weeks. And our Cub Scout Pack has a new Cubmaster.

Me.

That is all.