I woke up this morning to the sounds of birds chirping outside my window. And not just one lonely, mixed up and confused bird desperately looking for a bite to eat buried underneath the snow. No, this was a plethora of birds, belting out their happy morning songs on another beautifully warm day.
Last week’s 4 foot snowfall is pretty much melted down, except for the large chunks on the side of the road left over from the plow truck. It’s a completely different world outside than it was only a few days ago.
And that is spring in Vermont for you. A bipolar, all encompassing identity that change daily or even by the hour, whichever it is feeling like. The other Sunday, it was a different weather pattern every time I picked my head up. It was phenomenal. Like, really a phenomena.
But what does this mean, this odd weather that has no pattern ever really at all? It means you pack absolutely everything in your car every day and hope for the best. Snowing? Better have your scraper and brush ready to go. Mud? Don’t forget to wear your big boots. Rain? Make sure they are the waterproof ones. Sunshine? Me sure to pack the lawn chairs for tailgating, and clouds? Don’t forget to sharpen your edges. It’s a mess and you have to be prepared, both physically and emotionally.
Don’t get too attached to your crocus when they start to rise, unless you are putting a blanket on them over the next few days. Because now that we’ve had a week of basking in the sunshine, working on our goggle tans and starting to think about planning our gardens, Mother Nature is about to dump another couple of feet on us.
I keep looking out over Kent Pond as I make my way in to work in the mornings, but it is still frozen solid. Usually, this time of year we’ve had a couple of days on the water before it starts to freeze back up a bit. But that’s not the case this year — the mountain looks fuller and fresher at the beginning of April than it did in February!
But I am okay with leaving my boat in barn for a few more weeks, the summers seem so much longer than they used to anyways. Or maybe, it’s that I’ve been skiing less and less each year as I get older and further away from the ski bum lifestyle so the winter feels shorter. But I do love those multi-sport spring season days where you can spend an hour paddling on the water in the morning and then spend the afternoon sharing drinks in the parking lot after a few runs on the mountain.
Is there seriously anything better than apres ski in parking lot beers? The joy of knowing you spent some glorious time outside, enjoying the world and even though the lifts are closed, you just cannot seem to let the moment go? You’re stalling, unwilling to accept the inevitable, but the sheer fact that you’re drinking in the parking lot after 4 p.m. means that the weather has been warming up.
It’s a contradiction, this Vermont spring. I want things to warm up, so the snow is soft and glorious and we can play in the hero snow. But I want things to stay cold, so that winter lasts forever, but who really wants a foot massage where their knees vibrate so much it feels like your femurs just might misalign with your shins and your whole body will crumble.
Obviously, we know which one will come out victorious in the battle of winter versus summer, it is April. And that is okay because all good things must end, especially since it’s not for almost two months! Seriously, folks, why is everybody all talking about the end of ski and ride season when we seriously have two more months to go!
There are parties every weekend. We’re heading into spring with some of the thickest base we’ve seen in a while. I mean, really how often do we get to ski in unblemished woods in April? And not just on the mountain, but we’ll be touring through the woods all around the region this week.
And I will be out there, getting enough snow to fill my powder belly up because I am still so hungry! Of course, I am also hungry for that fresh spring corn and all the margaritas we’ll be drinking in the parking lot. Ugh, I am so getting ahead of myself.
First we have to get through the season of chaos, with Mogul Challenge, Dazed & Defrosted and hopefully soon our first paddle days of the year!! See you all out on the slopes!
Merisa Sherman is a long time Killington resident, local Realtor®, KMS coach, town lister and member of the Development Review Board. She can be reached at femaleskibum@gmail.com.
