Writer Wednesday - Not Your Usual Signs of Spring

Hocus Pocus and All That 

By Maureen L. Bonatch

Not Your Usual Signs of Spring 

Scruff looking dapper with his bow tie to welcome the warmer weather. 

It creeps upon us. A few degrees over freezing, a moment of being mesmerized by the round, orb in the sky until our frozen minds realize it’s the sun considering emerging from hibernation…and suddenly spring is on it’s way. 

Most notice the longer days, and that they might actually travel to and from work without the moon for company. Others comment on the budding flowers, but here in PA, I find other not so obvious signs spring may be upon us...and no, I’m not talking about the Groundhog. 

You might be from Pennsylvania if these signs of spring sound familiar: 

• My obsession with the Schoolcast website has lessened. One morning I realize I’ve started my day without the routine of refreshing the school closings and delays a bajillion times, only to have the cancellation roll in moments before waking the munchkins. 

• I realize I’ve not checked the weather for a day or two, and have not conversed with friends and families about when the next winter storm is about to descend (I.e.: when to avoid the grocery store at all costs, seriously how much toilet paper do you need?) 

• I look in my closet and discover 90% of my choices are black or grey…and suddenly I have an urge to add a little color. 

• The initial excitement has long faded and I don’t know if I can stand to wear my salt encrusted, dry rotting, boots…One. More. Day— I dream of open-toed shoes and painted toenails. 

• Fretting begins about the eventual hibernation of the sweat pants I’ve come to love and cherish—one aspect of winter I resist with all my might—despite doing very little sweating in them. 

• That rack I’ve intentionally avoided, ignored and scowled at, has been full of bathing suits since January— and some crazy people have been buying them, so the pickings are getting sparse. 

• The state flower has began to make an appearance. No, not the Mountain Laurel Flower (who knew we had so many PA state symbols-- there's even a proposed state toy!) but the orange construction cone should be the PA state flower, because they start budding everywhere at the first sign of spring. 

• Potholes appear out of nowhere as if an asteroid has hit the earth, leaving gaping holes big enough to lose small animals in. 

• In my novel Destiny Calling, another not so usual sign of spring is the emergence of motorcycles even though the snow has yet to finish melting. I haven’t seen any out yet, but it won’t be long— and I’m sure there would be if we had any Oppressors in residence… 

So tell me what do you consider the first sign of spring? 

Blog previously posted on www.maureenbonatch.com

© 2022 Maureen L. Bonatch All Rights Reserved Just a small-town girl, Maureen Bonatch leads a double life. She lives in a magical world as a novelist, and as a nurse leader in reality. Maureen’s first novella was a paranormal romance published when blogs were a new-fangled thing. She’s since changed her focus to writing paranormal cozy mysteries as M.L. Bonatch and urban fantasy as Maureen Bonatch. While she’s not busy writing or doing nurse-things, she’s a mom to her twin daughters, bicycling in the beautiful woods of PA with her hubby, doing the bidding of a feisty Shih Tzu, and dancing as much as possible. She believes music can be paired with every mood, laughter is contagious, and that caffeine and wine are essential for survival. http://www.maureenbonatch.com/