Vendredi V - The Grass Has Riz Edition

Just in time for spring, a resurrection of that former famed Friday Feature!

And it is indeed spring in Minnesota. I love this time of year, mostly because I know it's six months before I have to think about winter again. April is definitely not the cruellest month - it is, in fact, the Friday of months wherein the slog of the work-a-day winter is left behind for the weekend that is months-without-an-"R."

[Aside: did your mom have that rule? We were only allowed to wear shorts in months that did not have an "R" in their name. The poor Peitasch kids in April or September heat waves.....]

Anyway, the reminders that it's that time of year are everywhere:

Top 5 Signs It's Spring:

1.  The farmer's market has returned to Nicollet Mall downtown. Never mind that all of the produce is shipped in from elsewhere seeing as how there's no possible way that there's any locally grown stuff since there was snow on the ground two weeks ago. Nothing says spring like buying Mexican bananas on the street instead of at the grocery store!

2.  The buskers are out. Nobody can play the trumpet/saxophone/flute/tambourine/guitar when it's -40.  So nice to have everybody back to play the background music for my Mexican banana-buying.

3.  The panhandlers/homeless people are out. I always feel a bit happier (or, perhaps, slightly less sad) for homeless people in springtime. If I hate winter (I of such wealth that I can waltz from warm house to warm car to warm office), what do they feel about living in The Icebox of the Nation? I can't imagine how much it sucks to be homeless, but I imagine it sucks more when it's cold.

4.  My lawn needs mowing. Which is very exciting for me, since we have a lawn service and I get all the benefits of the smell of fresh cut grass without any of the actual cutting.

5.  Summer car. Love, love, love it when I get to my car in the afternoon and it's all stale and hot and sweaty in there.