Skunk cabbage leafing out

A grudging warming trend continues, so last night's "gift" of precipitation arrived as rain—more than half-an-inch worth—rather than snow. As a result of the downpour and the above-freezing temperatures, the white stuff, except for the grimy, compressed piles by the roadside, is pretty much gone. Sigh, sayeth this cross-country skier. The millpond ice will soon be the next casualty, and unless an unexpected reversal-of-meteorological-fortune takes place, I suspect that this winter is about over. Astronomically, of course, it is over, since today is the first official day of spring. The vernal equinox arrived at precisely 12:57 p.m., and in celebration, the Skunk Cabbage put forth its first leaves and turned off the furnaces and thermostats that heat and regulate the temperature of its well-insulated flowers. From now on, the plant, like the rest of us, is going to trust in the tender mercies of spring.