Today was one of those perfect days that defies the calendar and foreshadows spring: sunshine, bulbs near to bloom, a few flies buzzing around, a March wind. The horses are starting to shed some of their winter coats, and Keil Bay needed sponging after our ride. The water from the barn pump felt cool instead of cold, and lawnmowers buzzed in the afternoon. No one was actually mowing grass yet, but it was easy to imagine they might be.
The day lasted longer, it seemed. Shadows etched images all over the house, through the windows, and outside, on the back of the barn, the branches of the maple tree seemed to form a living creature, in silhouette, against the wall. The shadows of last year's leaves could easily be new ones. The horses stayed out past dark, imagining night-time turn-out in such balmy weather, because the wind died down to nothing at dusk, and suddenly it was warm, uncannily so, for the slide into evening.
Early this morning we clicked back to February and temps in the thirties. It will seem chilly today but we'll settle back in and wait for the real thing to come.