April Fool Me No More, Senor Vivaldi

I'm waiting for the Four Seasons to crack into everybody's favorite – La Primavera ... Allegro even. But for some reason, the record is skipping, and we're stuck with this long, not so lively piece about the drudgery of winter. Allegro non molto is right.

This sucks. It's mid-April, and snow from last weeks storm remains, crusty and thick. I remain steadfast in my vow not to shovel again this season, presenting a bit of a challenge for my newspaper deliverer and mailman.

Spring is hardly Maine's finest season, as this BDN columnist observes. From the frost heaves, to the mud, to the black flies, spring in Maine takes a certain resilience and creativity of spirit to be bearable. What's the alternative? Rughooking in Rumford?

The only slam dunks are maple syrup and baseball. This April continues to be lean on both. A tree-tapping friend of mine told me his taps have largely frozen to a standstill.

As for baseball, the Portland SeaDogs' opening day was reportedly a success despite the snow and cold, perhaps inspired by fans throughout the country who endured truly ridiculous weather to catch a game this week – from Cleveland to Texas.

Apparently, the local high school athletes won't be so lucky to have guys melt the snow on their fields. They face pretty grim short term prospects, according to Rockland Village Soup. With the regular season for softball and baseball scheduled for next week, teams will have missed the entire preseason and will likely miss a game or two off the top.


At least we have Dice K. Kinecheewaaa!!!!

At this point, I'll take ankle deep mud in a heartbeat. It's time to get out of the house and onto the trails – mud and blackflies be damned.