We here at neo-neocon (that’s me!) wish to officially welcome the first day of spring. It’s today, in case you didn’t know–I didn’t, myself, till I heard it on the radio this morning.

I’ve lived in New England for over thirty years, doing some time in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, and I have to say that here, the first day of spring is usually met with a derisive snort: you call this spring? Today is actually rather nice and sunny, but there’s still quite a bit of snow on the ground, and I would wager there’s more to come. But we know that the snows to come will melt far more quickly than before, and that gives us hope. A corner has been turned (I didn’t want to make this post at all political, but it occurs to me that maybe this is a good metaphor for what’s been happening lately in the Arab world).

At any rate, I plan to start thinking about gardening. That’s what people do in New England on the first day of spring–think of the next task (is that a metaphor, too?)

And here’s an excerpt from a Robert Frost poem describing the time of year that’s about to come any moment now, known as “mud time” in New England, for obvious reasons (the poem takes place in April rather than March, but I hope you’ll grant me some poetic license):

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You´re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you´re two months back in the middle of March.

So, go out and enjoy that sun, and enjoy the hope that goes with it!