Weatha' in Can't Get ta theya from He-a Territory

Well. It may be Rhode Island, not Maine, but it is New England after all and the land of the Cabots and, in a former time, the Cod. So I have abundant license to remark upon the weatha down he-a. It is a soaker, wet, raining all day and probably most of the past night, too. Not cold, though. Just gusty from out of the east and southeast and, as I said, very wet. Dark and gloomy if you wish to find gloom. I did not seek it out today, so I saw the kind of brightness that surprises you on a light meter, the sort that pushes the needle nearly off the scale. The clouds and fogs refract an enormous quantity of light, much more than you realize. And looking up at Roger Williams Park, you can almost see the leaves unfurling in the treetops. The new face of spring covers the bare bones of winter past, soon relegating it to ancient memory.

There seem to be a set of spring type days. The template seen by far the most this spring has been fairly cold at night, down in the low 40s, 30s and a couple of times, the high 20s,warming up rapidly by day, turning the AM chill into clear, breezy and in the 50s. These days make you have to be outside; you make excuses to get there, after a winter under wraps. It has not been an April showers bring May flowers kind of month this time. It has been dry for a week at a stretch, twice. Then there are the raw days with driving wind and rain from the northeast, of which we had but one storm this April, and many deceptively fine, but breezy, sun-and-cloud days when you need to remember to wear an extra layer along with a windproof jacket. These days are tricky, if you don't. Exposed, the windchill sucks the fun right out of you in the garden. Another type of spring day, one with clouds, mist and no wind comes along when a gray mist cover lingers on for a day or two and the breeze, when it eventually fills in, comes in from the south or the southwest.

This being southern New England, these little "persnicitations" don't amount to a hill of beans to a Mainer, of course. Heck, Down East and back in the woods, there's still snow and the sap's probably not finished running, eitha'. Up at Tuckerman's, they'll be skiing down the headwall on Memorial Day, more or less. As far as I'm concerned for this year, anyway, I cain't get downa theya from he-a 'tall. Nope. So I'll categorize the easier variety we get around Naragansett Bay in the spring. Maybe next year?