If the sea gulls are back then spring has definitely sprung!

What a great weekend we enjoyed. The sound of water dripping off our roof and running down the gutter pipes is a welcome sign. The warm sun has created spring fever in my veins. The slush ice that filled our street sidewalks is disappearing, being replaced by puddles.
Walkers are again out in runners and tracksuits.
The buildup of dirt, leaves, broken branches that accumulated over the winter is reappearing as the sun melts the layers of snow. I know that within a month, I will be raking those branches and grass as spring cleanup begins. But I don’t even mind thinking about that because it will be done in shirt sleeves and the tulips, daffodils and crocus will be popping up through the snow.
My white truck has been into the car wash twice in the past two weeks, to wash away the brown road mud that clings to the sides and back. It is good to see those big puddles in the road. Walking along the streets on Sunday, the water sounded like waterfalls as it plunged into the storm sewers of Fort Frances.
Even driving across the district, the ditches were filling up with water and some of the steams had water flowing over the ice making its way to the river. Spring is coming.
Making several trips to the men’s favourite store, I couldn’t help but notice that all the lawn furniture is now out along with bulbs and seeds. Even a lawn mower was visible. Store-keepers are the optimists.
McTaggart’s and Betty’s have the latest spring fashions gracing their windows telling you Spring Break is here and that old bathing suit or sundress just won’t suffice for another season. The fashions shout “We are the new colours. We are the new styles”.
Feeling optimistic with a spring in my step, I headed Sunday night to the Community Chest Dinner and one of the first people I met reminded me that we are still in for three more snows after the sea gulls return. Such a pessimist. It may be an accurate local folk tale, but by my reckoning, the sea gulls always mean that spring has arrived and even if a snow falls, it will disappear in a matter of days.
In the mean time, I will continue to enjoy my walks and the sounds of water running into drains, and percolating down the downspouts of my gutters. And each day the sidewalks and roadways will become drier.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher