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Take a chance to share what you like most about spring

March 27, 2008 12:15 am

WITH the sun shining down on me yesterday, and temperatures closer to 70 than 40, it hit me that it's time for a spring thing.

As I ventured out for lunch, and enjoyed everything from the blooming trees to the warmth on my face, it occurred to me that folks probably look forward to a rainbow of different things with the return of warmer weather.

With that in mind, I'd like to know what readers look forward to the most with the return of spring.

Some might say gardening in the warming soil, while others might mention outdoor sports. What are you excited about?

For some folks, it might be the way warm weather opens up the great outdoors. That could could mean tossing a line into the Rappahannock, crabbing on the Potomac or simply taking in nature's beauty in anything from a blossoming tree to a field painted purple by wild flowers.

For others, it could be the start of softball or soccer season, working up a sweat planting vegetables or perennials, or feeling that it's warm enough to better enjoy a trip for frozen custard. Then again, it could mean pulling the cover off the grill to see how it has weathered the winter, or packing up a picnic basket to head off for a hike in a local park or up a trail in Shenandoah National Park.

Whatever your thoughts, collect them and get them to me via e-mail, U.S. mail or fax.

None will be taken by phone.

To have your reply published, you must include your full name and where you live (Spotsylvania County, Colonial Beach, etc.) as well as a daytime phone number where you can be reached if there are questions.

To get you in the "What does spring mean to me?" mode, I'll share the thing about spring and the warmer weather that follows that means the most to me.

Put simply, it involves the feeling of warm air blowing through my remaining hairs on the deck of any kind of boat.

Some of the strongest memories from my childhood are the many trips I took with my grandfather Robert Carden of Sandy Point in Westmoreland County. On many a Saturday morning, we'd head out fishing on the Chesapeake Bay aboard the classic Bay deadrise he had remodeled into a pleasure boat.

Leaving while the sun was still coming up, we'd get provisions--Nehi orange and grape sodas, crackers and Vienna sausages, along with bloodworms and a block of ice--and point the Sea Ranger's bow out past Point Lookout.

While I loved fishing and noticing the world of creatures that passed around and beneath the boat, nothing was better than the ride out and back.

From my perch up front, where you could see the bow cut through the greenish chop like a knife through butter, the horizon and the water below it stretched out to the point where anything seemed possible.

It's a nice memory to call up on the coldest, darkest days of winter.

And one that I can't wait to repeat this time each year when warmer days open up the water-borne world.

Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com