Update!

I missed a few days along in there, then when I went to post about them I got sidetracked on my paean to the hope of summer. So, this weekend just past I spent a whole wonderful day at a nearby lake. Rode my bike several lesiurely miles, ate horrible hot dogs hand-charred over a fire I started (my favorite--arson, that is), the constant drone and thump of a Boy Scout Jamboree going on across the lake...by dark there was a haze of campfire smoke literally covering the park from the ground to the top of the trees...all I could think about was the movie One Crazy Summer, and I knew I absolutely mustn't do anything requiring first aid...
So, I had a great time, got to watch a white and a blue egret fishing, drank a lot of beer outdoors in the sun on a beautiful day, and basically wish you could have been there, especially if you're under a few feet of snow.