Rites of Spring Redux

I was tempted to write about my annual Spring traditions but knew I had to have done it before.  Yup, I did a post about it in 2006, it's in the archives if you care to revisit it.  I made some judicious edits and some new additions, so consider this like a a 'clip show' of blogs.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a creature of extreme habit, sometimes to a fault.  I have patterns and ways I like to do things and enjoy the comfort of those routines. It's not like OCD or anything, it's merely the order of doing things the same way all the time I enjoy with certain things. As seasons change, I have my little idiosyncratic behavior patterns that come out, especially in Spring. Some of my annual traditions.

I'm a seasonal drinker in that I drink whiskey, bourbon or Scotch in Fall and Winter and Gin and diet tonic in the Spring and Summer. On the first day in which it gets above 70 degrees, I have my first G&T. 

XTC's Skylarking album is the aural embodiment of Spring to me and one of the first things I do when Spring arrives is listen to this album in its' entirety, sometimes with that first G&T. Now, if you listen carefully to it (in order) lyrically, it really covers all of the seasons from Spring to Winter rather than just Spring but the Todd Rundgren production and the instrumentation just lends itself to Spring. If you don't own this album, you really need to buy it. If you do own it, take it for a Spring test-drive and report back to me, just do yourself a favor and skip "Big Day".  Surprisingly, I haven't gotten around to my first listen of this yet this Spring. Oh, and if you want to kick it old school, here's an mp3 of the song "Mermaid Smiled" which was on the original pressings of Skylarking, before getting replaced by "Dear God".

Cutting the grass. Not all rites are fun. This one's making a comeback for me.  Now that Ihave my own lawn, it's almost become fun to cut the grass again. I said almost.  Mowing the lawn is one of those great projects in which you yield instant tangible results, like painting, you immediately see what you've done. 

Yesterday as it reached 80 degrees, I made a mad dash to the basement to retrieve a few pair of shorts. How long before I have to get the air conditioners out?  We've also added 'taking Abby for a long walk in the stroller' as another rite of spring. 

 

How about you?  What do you do every Spring?