Saving Daylight

The thermometer in my truck read 58 degrees today. The roads became soft and mini-sinkholes appeared. We may get one less hour of sleep tonight but I will trade it for the glory that was today’s weather.First stop was the barn. The sky was that impossible blue, so deep and wide. Blanket-less horses were basking in the sun and rolling in the snow. Dirty “horse snow-angels” dotted the pasture where they had dropped and itched away the loose hair and dust of winter. I rode out with three friends and we broke new trails. When the snow reached over the largest horse’s knees we turned back to ride the dirt roads.

Icicles in the corners of the house directed the melt from the roof to the ground below, joining up to form fantastical creations. The resident Ravens sailed high above calling and swooping in pure joy.

I walked Alice down the road to clear my head. No coat, no scarf, no hat or gloves, just a warm shirt and boots. She bounced along ahead of me. Normally she would be sharp-eyed for squirrels in the woods but since the snowbanks were about 8 feet tall, her vision was pinpointed to what was up ahead. The cracks in the road gave off the warmth from the thawing earth below and the breeze out of the woods was cool. It created a strange feeling of fresh renewal.

As we marched along I heard an owl calling near the wetlands. Snow clumps from the tall pines plopped onto the road.

When the “load limit” signs come out on our country roads, it means just one thing:

the first day of temperatures above 20 degrees and no snow brings the hope of spring.

6 comments on “Saving Daylight”

Chris F says:

March 11, 2013 at 1:12 pm

OK…inquiring southern minds need to know..what do load limits have to do snow melt?

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Martha Schaefer says:

March 11, 2013 at 1:19 pm

Great question, Chris. As the earth warms and the frost melts below the surface of the roads, the heavy trucks cause terrible damage, ie potholes, sinkholes. The load limits attempt to give the ground enough time to settle and harden before the trucks put stress on the surface.

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ChriS F says:

March 11, 2013 at 4:53 pm

So no moving vans or gravel to resurface the driveway until May?

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Martha Schaefer says:

March 11, 2013 at 5:40 pm

That's about right. I don't know for sure about moving vans but no gravel trucks for sure!

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Laura Mahoney says:

March 11, 2013 at 7:07 pm

The heralding of spring! I'll take it.