That’s a ridiculously easy question to answer: my Mr. Google says, “This year Spring arrived on Thursday March 20, 2025.” However, another Google said, “The St. Lawrence Seaway had its 2025 Spring opening on Friday March 21.”
Then, one of our parishioners excitedly reported, “I saw a robin this morning! Spring must be here.” That’s when really avid birder Hans chimed in, “Not so! Some robins stick around all winter, surviving by subsisting on berries and whatever sustenance they can find.”
He was right. On a dreary March day, our visit to the Upper Canada Bird Sanctuary featured a small flock of the red-breasted so-called “harbingers of Spring” finding some sort of sustenance along the shoulders of the gravel road. Does that mean Spring came mid-March?
I just take a look just inside our back door. If my Sorel mukluks are sitting beside my sandals, and my parka is hanging on a hook beside my sweaty sweatshirt, that tells me it’s “Sprinter,” the tween-season between Spring and Winter.
Then there’s my truck. On the driver’s side there’s a summer tire up front, a winter tire at the rear. Passenger side, just the opposite. When Cornwall Tire was almost halfway through the change of season ritual, I heard CJSS blare out, “Folks, we just got the word, a massive polar vortex will be here tomorrow morning. School buses are cancelled.” At that, I shouted to the mechanic, “Hold it!” and drove home, 50% ready for Winter, and just as ready for Spring.
One of the definitive signs of Spring is called “Pick up Sticks.” The child’s version can be played year-round, but the adult version is done in preparation for that late spring ritual called mowing the lawn. It’s a variation of the dog-oriented stoop ‘n’ scoop. Winter’s winds and the ice and snow loads imposed on trees caused the yard to be littered with fallen branches. You have to pick up sticks, lots of them, before you can do any mowing.
Finally, I’ve discovered the absolutely definitive indication that Spring is here. It’s the long line-up of RVs at Canada Customs entry points. They’ve been in Florida for the last five months and 30 days, rushing to beat the length of stay deadline. Three other things forced them to migrate northward. First it was the hurricanes and floods off the Gulf of Mexico (or is it Gulf of America?). Then there was the punishing difference between the Canada-USA exchange rate. Finally, there was the ominous fear that a Canadian passport would not be a valid document for entry into the 51st state.
Spring, especially this one, is so absolutely full of uncertainties.
