Favorite things redolent of spring in Lancaster County - Columns

By Tom Murse

Updated Feb 19, 2007 15:52

Here are some of them.

� Late-afternoon strolls through the Garden of Five Senses at the county�s Central Park, with the curious 2-year-old daughter and a backpack stuffed with sandwiches and fresh fruit.

This little gem, nestled on a hillside overlooking the Conestoga River, is fragrant with the scents of teaberry, sweet cicely and black cherry when the weather turns warmer.

Afterward, we�ll follow the garden pathway into the woods and, eventually, to the wide-open clearing before Indian Rock overlook, spread out a blanket and hand-crank the radio.

The sight of the Griest Building rising hazily above the tree line is the only reminder that we�re within a mile of downtown and not alone in some faraway wilderness.

� Both the YWCA�s Race Against Racism and the Red Rose Run.

I�ve run the first race, which is 3.1 miles long, all but once since 1999. And I�ve made it a goal to run the latter, which is 5 miles, every year since 1999 � but never have.

Don�t ask why. I couldn�t tell you.

But when I think of spring I instantly think of these two road races, especially the YWCA�s. Maybe it�s because the image of a pack of runners sprinting from the start line somehow becomes mentally entwined with the vibrancy of the season. Or maybe it�s because it�s been gloriously sunny for almost every one.

More likely, the races come to mind at the beginning of spring because it�s time to start worrying about whether I�m really in shape to do either. We�ll see.

� The opening of Freeze & Frizz on Lititz Pike. If you need an explanation for this one, you�re obviously not from around here. Here it is in a nutshell: Picnic tables. Airplanes taking off and landing at the nearby Lancaster Airport. Cheeseburgers. French fries. Milkshakes.

Enough said.

� The ritual of lugging every last screen down from the attic and wrestling them into their appropriate window frames. I know, it doesn�t sound like much fun, and it really isn�t.

There are 14 windows in my house. They�re all different sizes, with just a few inches� difference, yet all the screens look the same. Every year I promise to mark each with a number coordinated with its appropriate window frame, and every year I put it off.

The procedure can be harrowing. Four-letter words will be issued loudly, and my wife will complain that the neighbors are listening. But in the end, feeling the fresh air sweep in the living room and carry with it the must of winter through the dining room and out the kitchen is worth the trouble.

� The sun sets today at 6:18 p.m. It sets tomorrow night at 6:19. A month from now it won�t be dark until 7:49.

��

The Voices column is written by a rotating team of New Era staffers. It appears Mondays.

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