Home with Marcia Our

So-Called ‘Spring’ in New England

As I sit down to write this, My 91-year-old mother calls from Florida to give me the weather report. I think she just likes to rub it in, or most likely, she wants me to move down there. And I admit, I’m tempted after the temperature update she reports: It has been sunny and 85 degrees for days on end since the vernal equinox. There is no spring in Florida. It goes from winter-ish (if you can call it that) to summer.

Well, I told her, tongue firmly in cheek, there is barely spring in New England either. Since the vernal equinox on March 20, it has been stubbornly gray. And damp. And cold. Winter here does not easily give up the ghost. Spring comes reluctantly at the end of May, and sometimes winter rears its head one last time for a good laugh and a surprise Mother’s Day snow flurry.

Still, when spring does finally arrive, for a few short weeks from late May to mid-June, it is glorious, invigorating, and energizing. And I wouldn’t trade it for all the 85-degree Florida days.

And what do New Englanders do with all that pent-up energy? Spring cleaning ... indoors and out. I’ve already started purging things I don’t need in my kitchen: duplicate spatulas, bowls and a plethora of coffee mugs.

The outside, for now, will wait since I’m heeding the advice of Michele Chalice, our In the Garden writer, who says that leaves, left alone, are good for the soil and many species of beneficial insects nesting birds feed on in spring.

But there’s still plenty to plan and do. Turn to our Spruce Up for Spring special section starting on page 23 for environmentally friendly clean-up tips and local businesses at the ready to help you get your home and garden in shape for the season.

Happy Spring!

Marcia Passos Editor & Founder, atHome Magazine

atHOME MAGAZINE

ISSUE #29 • SPRING 2023

Cover Image by Kelly Fletcher

PUBLISHER

Backporch Publishing LLC

FOUNDER/EDITOR

Marcia Passos

CONTRIBUTORS

Michele Chalice

Patricia Herlevi

Nancy McGartland

Denise Mazzola

Rob Parisi

Caroline Tremblay

PHOTOGRAPHY

Kelly Fletcher

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CONTACT US atHome Magazine

16 Russell Street • Keene, N.H. 03431 603-369-2525 marcia@atHOMEnewengland.com www.atHOMEnewengland.com atHome is published four times a year (Spring, Summer, Fall/Holiday and Winter) by Keene, N.H.-based Backporch Publishing LLC. atHome is a consumer publication that highlights the homes and gardens of residents in tri-state area of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.

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