A couple of weeks ago, I really expounded on all the signs of spring in Vermont; Nature exacted retribution for that, of course, by dumping over a foot of snow on us the following Sunday, and another four inches on Tuesday night. Just a reminder of who’s really in charge of this weather scene.

Last Saturday it was a balmy (dare I say oppressive?) 75 degrees and the local newspapers started writing about the mosquito spraying effort that cranks up each spring. I’ve lived in this state for 11 years now, and I can’t figure out what to pray for. Rain makes things green and lush but bugs love it. Dry weather wilts the bugs, but also my birds and gardens, so a happy medium year would be nice. Last year I gave up on gardening because it was so parched and hot here, and the year before I didn’t venture outside much because it was so wet the mosquitoes flew in Air Force-like formations.

Whatever the weather, it’s still spring, according to the calendar, and it’s easy to see the wildlife moving around. A co-worker took grandsons to see a new baby cousin in the Northeast Kingdom last Sunday and reported they saw not one but two moose right along the road they were traveling. The boys were thrilled and Grandma was excited, too.

The abundance of wild turkeys is evident as I travel to work each day. It’s a rare day now that I don’t see a flock of them in an open field, foraging for something yummy. One morning, I noticed a male doing his courting routine to a flock of females, so I pulled off the road, grabbed my binoculars, and passed several minutes watching the display. He’d fan his tail out and strut a bit, then the tail would fold and he’d approach (or pretend to) before fanning the tail again. Obviously they don’t mind who watches their courting process!

Wild male turkey hunting occurs here next month, and sports columnists are speculating that it may be a bumper season because turkeys have multiplied in number so quickly in Vermont. Of course, a few won’t even make it to turkey season because they’ve been doing kamikaze routines into cars. Last weekend a Mass. man ran into a turkey that shattered his van’s windshield over on Interstate 91, and the weekend before that I heard about the same mishap occurring at the bottom of the hill going into Brandon from my house. A man had collided with a low-flying turkey and it shattered his windshield as well as shook him up some!

I heard this story from a neighbor I ran into at the Recycling Garage on Saturday morning. That’s the best place other than the voting poll to get tidbits about the comings and goings of Sudbury’s 500 or so residents. You chat with other townsfolk while you unload and sort your recyclables into the appropriate recycling bins. There are two groups of people who recycle on the first or third Saturday of each month. One group comes every couple of weeks, and they’re likely to have families that accumulate stuff fast. The other group has a shed or barn or something where they can store their material for weeks… or months… like me. When the storage corner of recyclables looks almost big enough to fill my entire car, it’s time to get busy.

It wasn’t too many years ago when you’d meet folks at the town dump, but as one after another landfill has closed, the “in” place to see your neighbors now is at the Recycling Center. You know it’s becoming a hotspot when candidates start canvassing there for votes during election season!

Other than turkeys, the birds have been a little confused about the off again, on again spring here, and this past week I saw the biggest flock of Bohemian waxwings I’ve seen of either that species or their cousins, the cedar waxwings. There are many flowering crab trees behind the Burlington Sheraton Inn and there were literally hundreds of Bohemian waxwings dining on last year’s berries on those trees this week. What a sight!

Back at the old schoolhouse I live in, the snowstorm brought more juncos to my feeder than I’ve ever seen since I’ve lived here; clearly, they were frazzled about that snow dump! And, I’ve faithfully carried out Mom’s requests to spread yarn pieces for the birds to build nests with. I’ll look for evidence of the yarn this fall when the leaves fall from the trees and we get to see the birds’ summer secrets of where they raised their young.

Despite the snow, we have tulips and daffodils in bloom and some forsythia is about to blossom. Looks like maple sugaring season is over, as I haven’t seen sap boiling for a couple of weeks now. Here’s wishing everyone a joyful spring and pleasant holiday weekend!

Last week’s quote was by Ivern Boyett. Who said, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude”?