The public school children had three days of their President's Week Break rescinded because of the unexpected vacation blown in by Hurricane Sandy, so today they all returned. The Boy has a friend at a private school where the decision was made to pull back days from Spring Break instead, so we met up this afternoon and tried to take advantage of the intermittent sunshine by getting a few winter wiggles worked out at the playground. As it turned out, no break in the cloud coverage could bring any warmth to the bitterly cold, windy day. While it was mentally fulfilling to have the playground entirely to ourselves, physical blood circulation in the extremities is beneficial.
Exiting the park in pursuit of hot cocoa we stopped to admire cardinals (latin name: Cardinalis cardinalis) -- a fidgety male and a much more focused female. While watching the birds we noticed that green tips are starting to push out; the Snowdrops (latin name: Galanthus) are here. Usually "signs of Spring" make us giddy, but this year I have mixed feelings. While I long for the warmth and long days to return, for once I'm in no hurry to finish the school year. Collige virgo rosas.
