Aaaaarrrr...the weekend warriors have started to arrive, and so has the spring weather. Yippee. I'm always amazed when spring actually arrives on time. It's almost as if the heavens have opened up and said, "Enough of this winter nonsense. The calendar says it's spring, so act accordingly and get sprouting." All of a sudden, the morning frost is gone, and the yellow forsythia is popping out everywhere. In this area, one of the phenoms is the coming of the chives. Yeah, that's right, chives. Someone must have sprinkled chive seeds like Johnny
Appleseed, for as soon as the ground frost disappears the little chive plants pop up everywhere. We thought it was only a St. Micheals thing, but it happens all around the Eastern Shore. Of course, be careful what you pick and eat...doggy dogs may have tried to water them to make them grow.

I'm off to L.A. on the 4th, and I'll be gone for two weeks for a bit of family caretaking. After a serious operation bro is doing very well and recovering right on schedule. I'll be there just before he goes home for continued recuperation, so I'll have my hands full. That's okay, part of what one does when it's time to do it. A big plus..the weather is predicted to be clear and averaging around 75°, not too hot, not too cold. I'll try to get in a blog while I'm there, but it's not too likely I'll find a way with no computer on sight and no broadband available. It's like going back to the time when there was nothing but black and white radio.

Back to the WWs. They started arriving last weekend, but they'll be really active starting today. It's the end of the month, and a number of owners who came to this marina to keep their boats under cover for the winter now must move back to their bare uncovered slips in Annapolis for the summer. Yesterday a couple of them started their engines, one even went out for a sea trial, but as they leave new ones will arrive, and they'll have their interesting stories to pass on. It's one of the really enjoyable things about this lifestyle. One meets many new and interesting people and friendly conversations are started almost always revolving only about their boats and their adventures. Friendships are made, but everyone understands that nothing in the boating world is permanent. The time will come to move on, and when that happens we shake hands and hug a bit and thoroughly appreciate the time we've been able to spend with our new friends and acquaintances. Of course, the common denominator here is "a boat and water." We all have the same involvement, in varying degrees of course, but no one is richer or poorer better or worse than the other, and that creates a wonderful atmosphere. Funny thing; it's the same all over the world, and that's one of the things that makes this lifestyle so attractive. So come on WWs, unwinterize your boats, hoot and holler, laugh and giggle, and let's get this 2007 season underway. It's really something to look forward to.

I'll be in touch in a couple weeks.