A long time ago, when I was a little girl, there was a book about Bunny Hopwell and his search for spring.

As I look outside and see new snow covering not so new snow and a crab apple recently depleted by a

circus of squirrels, I quote Bunny Hopwell, "so this is spring?" I'm not new to Vermont, so I know that yes

indeed, Virginia, spring will arrive, but on her own terms. Before spring can arrive in Vermont, we must first

pass through two other seasons, sugaring season and mud season, often times these two seasons happen

simultaneously, with both the sap and water running. If you aren't familiar with the terminology, sugaring season

is that time of year when sugar maple trees are tapped, so their sap can be gathered as the trees thaw out.

This sap is then gathered and the water is boiled off of it creating maple syrup. On the other hand, mud season.

Many of Vermont's back roads are unpaved. All winter as the snowbanks rise up along side the road,

frost settles into the road and the road becomes a giant dirt ice cube. At the end of winter/beginning of spring,

the snowbanks begin to trickle down the sides of the roads and the sun starts to heat the road turning that

giant dirt ice cube into a pile of dirt pudding creating mud season!

As I drive my way through springtime in Vermont, I will think of Bunny Hopwell. I will see the robins struggling

to find their dinner and think, "so this is spring",. My steering wheel in my car will jiggle and try to shake off my

hands and I will think, "so this is spring". My mailbox will appear to grow taller and I will think, "so this is spring".

I will smell the sweet combination of wood fire and boiling sap and think, "so this is spring." And most likely

there will be a morning when I have to shovel snow in order to drive my car to work and I will think, "so this

is spring." There are many mini seasons to spring in Vermont and each milestone towards the ultimate goal of

green grass is celebrated gleefully until we reach black fly season!

Happy Spring!