True spring weather has arrived in its glory, but I need to start indoors, with the appointment of three students to the Alan Bursaw Chapter of the National Honor Society. This ceremony in front of the whole school is a tribute to those whose academic achievement, service and citizenship are exemplary. It is cool, I think, to see some of our best athletes honored for these qualities.
But let's get outside, where a true New England spring is underway. I could easily have been a meteorologist. For much of the nation--distant from the moderating effects of the ocean--spring is a season of abrupt transition from winter to summer. No region of the United States experiences spring as we know it here in New England!
At this time of the year, high pressure to the north often draws cool ocean air over the Northeast, prolonging a season of clear, moisture-laden air, tempered by a climbing, warm sun. Of course, it could also snow.
We were blessed by very warm weather a couple of weeks ago, followed by huge rains. What we skipped this year were March snowstorms, which cause "mud season." That didn't happen. Now we are enjoying classic New England spring: cool air, warm sunshine and--thankfully--very light winds. Forsythia, daffodils, magnolias and some fruit trees are in bloom.
The forecast is for more of the same. Campus fields are greening; temperatures peak in the low sixties, and radiational cooling makes the walk to breakfast brisk. The sun, however, is high and climbing.
Back inside!
