I got the message – you’re tired of my blogging about winter, and winter storms, and icy roads and streams. And so I began my search for spring in the Finger Lakes. There, just outside my bedroom window, peaking just above the mulch was a hyacinth, all poised for its spring flowering celebration.
And just around the corner, the buds on the lilac bush say we are ready to start opening up but not until the air temperatures are much warmer. The lilac bush is an excellent predictor of when it is time to set out your tender plants in the early spring. But that time won’t be until at least half of the blossoms on the bush are fully in bloom.
The ducks at Vine Valley are all set for spring. Most of the Mallards pair by mid-December according to my Ducks Unlimited calendar. But they won’t begin nesting until mid-April – about the time when the seasonal humans return to the Vine Valley Camp ground.
Down near Woodville, little progress is to be seen on the Maid. There was a ladder propped up against one of the hulls and some evidence of welding in some new beams under the floor. But there seems to be a lot of the pieces of the old Keuka Maid missing. I’m thinking that somewhere around Canandaigua Lake the upper part of the new Maid is being assembled in a nice cozy heated warehouse separate from the hulls. Jeanette and I are already in line for the maiden voyage and we are hoping that the Maid will stay on Canandaigua Lake.
The New York State boat launch at Woodville is being reconstructed. Perhaps it needs to be widened out to accept the new Maid once she is finished and ready for sail. But for now, spring may be just around the corner, but you sure couldn’t prove it by me!