Spring Has Almost Sprung

By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

Finally, the harsh winter filled with Nor’easters is behind us and another season is in the record books. There is still a nip that remains in the air, but you can occasionally drive the car with the window open a crack or possibly pop open the sunroof to move some crisp air around. Maybe the weather will cooperate just enough to drag out the garden hose and wash the car in the driveway to get rid of all the salt and road grime from the winter. Mother Nature though, still holds all the cards close to her chest and can deal some nasty weather well into May. Therefore, it may be a little too soon to break out the shorts and tee shirts, but they are both at the ready. Soon it will feel good to open the windows to allow some fresh air to blow through the house. It is still a little too chilly for that just yet, but soon.

Of course, with spring comes the outside chores. There is the ritualistic walk around the house and yard to survey for damage. Branches and twigs need to be gathered and raked up to make way for the lawnmower. There always seems to be a bush, shrub or planting of some variety that met its fate over the winter and will need to be dug out and replaced. Damaged shrubbery will need to be pruned and reshaped to hide the winter scars. Then, the leaf blower comes out of hibernation to blow leaves and debris off decks and patios and from in between planting beds into strategic piles to be bagged for trash pickup. There always seems to be some weird item stuck behind a bush that blew over from a neighbor’s yard or from down the street that just gets added to the pile. Maybe it is time to spread some new mulch to freshen up the look of the planting beds?

There are the outside chores and then of course the house windows and screens need to be cleaned to get ready for the nice weather. Speaking of nice weather, that means the outside furniture needs to find its way back outside from basements and garages. This part of the project also includes cleaning the various pieces of furniture before they are repositioned in their strategic locations from last fall. One of the last parts of the ritual is taking the gas grill out from the garage and ever so carefully cleaning every nook and cranny of the burners and cooking surfaces. For me, cleaning the outside of the grill is just as important as the cooking surface so it has that shiny new appearance and looks inviting to use.

The expression “Rome was not built in a day” comes to mind when thinking of the spring projects that lay ahead. When I was younger (much younger) I would wake up early on a Saturday morning and get cracking at my to do list. By the days end my list would be complete and I would feel like I accomplished something. Being an old fart, attempting to complete all the spring cleaning tasks in a single day is not only unrealistic but could potentially be unhealthy (visions of me throwing out my back for one thing). Now, I realize I need to break the list into realistic projects and chip away at the list. Cathy and Buddy will be right there with me lending a helping hand. Paul helps with the heavy lifting tasks and for that I am appreciative.

Anyway, spring has sprung, and I see the need for Advil in my near future.

Until the Next Tom’s Take...

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