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I know it’s winter still. Earlier this month we passed Candlemas, an ancient festival based on the concept of pushing back the dark and reclaiming the light—and it’s true that to the discerning eye, the days are getting longer.
There’s probably still plenty of winter to come: I’m not going to kid myself about that. But I have to say that on the outer Cape, it’s feeling like spring.
The whales are here, for one thing, harbingers of more migration to come. The waters in the harbor are starting to change color, and there are buds on the trees outside my house … as well as a pair of bluebirds who appear to be checking out the neighborhood with thoughts of moving in.
It’s not just the wildlife. Walk down Commercial Street in Provincetown and you’ll hear the sound of hammers and drills as work gets done on homes and shops alike in anticipation of the beginning of “the season.”
The Squealing Pig and Bayside Betsy’s have reopened after their winter hiatus, and everywhere you can see people running around—literally—as part of the Provincetown Fitness Challenge.
As the calendar inches along and the sun warms my rooms and the softer air fills my lungs, I’m finding that my body, too, wants to respond. That I want to go down to the cellar and pull out my bicycle. That I want to walk more, and more slowly, and look around.
Love is in the air, too. Along with being a writer, I also perform weddings, and this is the time of year that prospective brides and grooms suddenly realize that if they’re going to do it this year, it’s time to start making plans. I’ve already had a fairly steady stream of inquiries for the past few weeks (after all, who doesn’t want to get married at Herring Cove at sunset?) and have been busy helping couples make their plans. A very spring-like endeavor!
And the curve is only going to accelerate. More and more shops and restaurants will be opening up in March, and then in April comes one of the most important spring milestones: the ban on street parking and the beginnings of the paid parking in lots all over town. Some would say it’s all downhill from there!
So, yeah, I know that the groundhog said six more weeks of winter. But with the mild winter we’ve experienced so far out here at land’s end, I may be forgiven, I think, for feeling like spring is just around the corner.