Hallelujah! Spring Has Sprung

I cannot recall ever looking so forward to the vernal equinox. That spring thing, ya know.

The winter past was one for the books: Three nor'easters and over 70 inches of snow hereabouts and another 40 inches of snow at the mountain hideaway.

The National Weather Service says that if two of those nor'easters -- the blizzards on February 4-7 and February 9-11 -- are considered a single event, it would be only the third Category 5 -- meaning "extreme" -- winter storm ever to hit the Northeast.

My own method for judging the severity of a winter is how often I have to wear my Sorrel gaiters, which are heavy duty snow boots that come up to just below my knees, and how may days I'm unable to ride my bike.

I didn't wear the Sorrels once last winter and wasn't able to bike on only a small handful of days, while I had to wear the Sorrels for days on end this time around and at one point was unable to bike for nearly a month.

For those of you in the southern hemisphere, today's equinox is the first day of fall. You have my sympathy.