Equinoxious

The vernal equinox is upon us. Here, it is going to feel like an anticlimax, but I would imagine that eastward it will feel more like a mistake. Well, I hope everybody in the east enjoyed playing in our snow that should have fallen on our mountains this winter and melted to fill our reservoirs this summer. The drought will be levying a surcharge on California fruits and vegetables this year. They might have a smoky taste, too, as the mountains are very likely to catch fire and burn all summer.

But for now the evening is cool and the frogs are croaking along the live streams that gurgle in the swale and the air smells of new grass and spurge laurel. The disaster is merely lurking, and might not even show up until the solstice. It could turn out to be a lovely spring, with frequent pleasant showers to keep the grass green and burgeoning floral displays. The new leaves might find enough water to stay green well into summer. One simply doesn't know. But whatever it will be it is beginning, and there's no going back.