It was a cold March here in Northern Virginia, but spring began with real promise.  On that first day of the season, it seemed as though warmth, bright color and new life were truly on their way.  Then, somehow, the pause button was pushed.  Or maybe it was the reverse switch, because throughout the rest of the month, we got the weather we should have had in February.  We got the snow that the kids had hoped for all winter.  Mornings were frosty, with icy winds and various threats of frozen precipitation.  Afternoons were only somewhat less bitter, and nights were consistently cold. Buds and blooms put themselves on hold, understandably unwilling to emerge in the inhospitable climate.  I needed every bit of my winter dog-walking gear, from the woolen hiking socks to the mittens and fuzzy scarf.

When the first warm weather arrived last Friday, it caught me completely off guard.  I had almost given up hope that spring would ever again feel like spring.  The morning felt expectedly chilly, but by the time Kiko and I returned from our walk, he was panting vigorously and I was carrying a bundle of outer wear.  That afternoon was absolutely perfect weather for April.  Saturday was warmer still.  On Sunday, even I was digging around in my closet for shorts and T-shirts. Yesterday the temperature reached 80 degrees.  Kiko, who had spent the entire weekend sleeping in the sun on the patio, took refuge in the shade of the porch.  He had the exhausted, overheated grimace he wears during most of August.   Today the expected high is 82.  On Wednesday, it might reach 90.

It’s a tiresome and ungrateful practice to complain about the weather, especially when there are those not so far away who continue to suffer in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, not to mention other natural disasters world-wide.  Still, couldn’t we have had another Pause on Saturday, when the weather was pleasant and actually spring-like?  Instead we got Fast-Forwarded.  But the neighborhood sure looks beautiful.

 

I love it when the reddish buds of the maple trees
create the look of a rose-colored wash.

A spring-flowering magnolia, in exuberant bloom.

These  hearty purple vinca flowers appeared in late February.
At last they look comfortable, as they bask in the sun.

This small tree flourishes despite its proximity to the path of my daughter’s rope swing.  Its buds open to reveal raggedy  flowers with a lemony fragrance.

A few daffodils are finally blooming in our yard.