spring fling

according to the calendar tomorrow marks the first day of spring. it feels like kind of joke to me. spring is supposed to be about flowers blooming, leaves returning to trees, warmer weather, and baby birds chirping. the truth is, that kind of spring stuff doesn't really exist here for at least another month or two. right now, all we have is annoying mixes of rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow usually in same day. All the snow that is left on road sides is brown, dirty and depressing to look at. In between the rain and snow mixes we do get some warm temperatures, but just enough to make everything muddy for a few hours before it turns to ice again. jay is wiping off our muddy puppy as we speak. i think the most annoying part of "spring" in vermont this year is potholes. the roads are a complete disaster, with an almost constant threat of a flat tire. maybe thats just my commute starting to wear on me. i'm trying to be hopeful that soon enough, i'll be lounging on the deck while jay is firing up the grill (which we don't even own yet). at least we discovered that there really is a deck underneath the snow.