Cord Byrd: “From winter, plague and pestilence, good Lord, deliver us!'' wrote Thomas Nashe in 1600, in ``Summer's Last Will and…”

“From winter, plague and pestilence, good Lord, deliver us!'' wrote Thomas Nashe in 1600, in ``Summer's Last Will and Testament,'' to which I add a hearty, ``Amen!'' At last, this Saturday, March 20, spring arrives, both by calendar and weather, and we are all happier for it. Blue skies, warming breezes, and the faint blush of buds upon the trees--this year, especially, spring is a sight for sore eyes too long blinded by the glare of Sun upon sparkling snow. The cheerful chorus of springtime frogs is welcome music after the almost silent whisper of falling snowflakes. This year in particular, spring seemed a long time coming. Rarely have we seen so much snow in West Virginia--storm after storm, flurry upon flurry, until roofs groaned under the weight and plows could find nowhere to push the drifts. Even children home from school day after day edged slowly from delight to cabin fever. And just when it seems we could not stand one more session with the snow shovel, we must now fear the flooding snowmelt, the menacing legacy of this epic winter. In time to prevent our moods from miring, like our yards, in the mud, come the first bright petals of crocus and daffodil to give us hope. Their petals glow among the wet leaves and drab grasses of winter.”