This week we’re celebrating Barbara Ross’s story in Easter Basket Murder! While I’ve never considered an Easter basket a lethal weapon, I love that the three authors in this anthology are going to change this. Also, thinking about Easter makes me think about spring. A taunting thought at this point in the long New England winter. Tell me, Wickeds, do you look forward to spring so much that you don’t enjoy winter? What about spring do you look forward to the most?
Sherry: People enjoy winter? Just kidding…maybe. Congratulations on Easter Basket Murder, Barb. It’s a wonderful story! I love it when the trees first get their leaves. They are such a delicate green and look so beautiful.
Edith/Maddie: Sherry, this native Californian loves winter. Especially when it’s clear and cold and crisp and I can cross-country ski on fresh snow. Yum. But Easter is good, too – many congratulations, Barb! I always look forward to hosting Easter brunch, and this year I’ll make sure not to include any murder weapons in the collection of baskets.
Liz: I can’t wait for spring already! Although spring hasn’t been so, well, springy the last few years. Mostly I think I’m looking forward to summer again. I’m not a huge winter fan although I’ve been trying to embrace it more. But this year I’m looking forward to new beginnings in general – and spring feels like a really good time to think about those things.
Jessie: I never let winter bother me until we added a dog to the family. I don’t mind walking in the cold, or even in the snow, but I don’t love ice under foot or snowbanks piled high and eliminating any safe shoulder to move out of traffic. It just makes things miserable. So, I am looking forward to dry ground to walk on and plenty of width for moving about the village!
Julie: I try not to wish time away, but February in New England is the longest month of the year. Barb, I look forward to reading your story and jumping forward a bit. Congratulations!
Barb: Thanks, everybody! If I lived where Sherry does and there were long, flowery springs, I would totally be looking forward. But in New England spring is often cold, sleety days that turn abruptly to 95 degrees and sunny, and your laundry basket is suddenly and mysteriously full of flannel pajamas and shorts mixed together. In Easter Basket Murder, Julia and company do get a break with a sunny Easter Sunday, which can happen. In the novella, Easter is on March 31, semi-coincidentally the same date it is in real life this year.
Readers, how about you? Any winter sport fans? For those of you in temperate climates, I know this time of year is lovely. How about for the other folks in colder climates. Love winter or long for spring?
The Wickeds 
I love winter days with freshly fallen snow viewed from my cozy warm flat, with enough provisions for the duration, many books to read, and hopefully a bright blue sky under a bright sun that makes the snow sparkle. When I was younger I would take the train into the Washington DC on a snowy weekend to visit exhibits in museums and the art gallery on the National Mall, with short walks between museums in the crisp air for exercise, pausing in any of the wonderful museum cafes for a break, and hot coffee! Now I’m concerned about slipping and falling (need to get better boots!) Though I love these kind of winter days (with the reassuring sound in the background while I read, or cook, of the local weather news letting me know what to expect, or when the snow will melt) my favorite season is Spring! Cherry blossoms, and tulips, and new green leaves appearing!
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What a lovely description of a winter day. Like you, freshly fallen snow with the crisp air is a delight. The move into slush and ice isn’t as lovely. DC also shuts down in a snow, which makes it quiet. Thanks for the descriptions!
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Thank you, Julia!!
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Here in southwestern Pennsylvania, this winter has been extremely mild. On one week (so far) of cold temperatures and snow, and now it’s climbing into the forties and fifties. As I write this at 6:00 a.m., it’s 46 degrees out! Having said that, I am not a fan of normal winters. NOT a fan at all of ice, especially ice storms that drag down trees and power lines. Nope, nope, nope.
Spring is my favorite season. I love watching the world come back to life with green buds, flowers, birdsongs, and the chorus of spring peepers outside my windows.
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Annette, I feel as though you need to knock wood, throw salt over your shoulder and turn around three times. We’ve yet to navigate February. That said, I agree. This winter has been all over the place.
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Although it has been a mild winter where I live in Maine, I am sooooo looking forward to Spring! I think I’ll do a dance in my yard the day I see some crocuses peek through!
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Especially when spring is going to last, and it isn’t the false start that so often happens. I do love those first flowers.
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I love winter, as long as I can enjoy it from indoors!
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LOL! I’ll admit, I enjoy it more now that I work from home.
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No matter how mild the winter, I start looking forward to spring on January 2. The holidays are over. The magic of snow is over. Bring on the fresh green and flowers!
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I’m with you!
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Long for spring! For one with medical issues, I can tell you that cold is not our friend at all. There’s not enough sweats or blankets to ease the pain much less have it leaving like the natural warmth of nature. After a bleak winter, to start to see some sunshine with nature coming alive with blooms and little babies in nature like birds to deer is sheer delight. There’s also gardens (both veggie and flower) to plan and bring to life. Yes, I’ll take spring over winter any time!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
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I don’t mind the winter months when it’s sunny, which can be rare here in Central Indiana. This time of year, my goal is to hang on until March 17. St. Patrick’s Day is a much needed reminder that spring is on the way!
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I love winter but do look forward to more backyard birds at my feeders and spotting the first hummingbird. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
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I can remember following the plow truck to Easter Sunday Mass so in my memory, winter and spring are parts of a stately waltz! Because I lived in Florida for so long where all the seasons were more or less summer, I enjoy each season for what it offers. Winter is wonderful for snowshoeing, woods hiking, skiing, and the sheer beauty of snowy trees against a backdrop of clear blue skies. Spring is notable for it’s loamy scent, the delicacy of green sprouting from earth, and that wonderous time when the trees turn into Seurat paintings. Each is special.
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Yes! The longest month of the year in New England has the fewest days. The February curse. When I lived in CT, and had a garden with tulips and daffodils and the wonderful alliums, spring marked a special time of year. Not missing the garden enough to move back from my spot on the Atlantic in southeast FL. Happy non-lethal visits from the Easter Bunny!
Elisabeth
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By far, winter is my least favorite season. I’ve never lived where I haven’t had to deal with it. For 14 years I lived where one year we had snow in every month except August. I look forward to spring starting in October. And summer is heaven.
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This So Cal resident looks forward to the warmer temps of spring. Cold is not for me. However, we will be in the 70’s over the weekend (and then back down to the 50’s with rain the weekend after).
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I hate the winter cold and slippery roads. About 20 years ago my husband and I decided to embrace winter and took up cross country skiing. It really worked! Unless the wind chill is in the single digits, you don’t feel the cold after a few minutes, and if it’s a windy day, we ski on the trails through the woods. The only tricky part is trying to pick a day where the roads won’t be slippery to drive to and from an “upnorth” ski resort.
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That is why we have never moved north or wanted to visit during winter. Too cold. Though moving from Texas to Georgia, we found winter and now Texas has found a lot of winter in the last few years. Though here in Georgia we had a week of very cold below normal temperature. Our gas bill is enormous the last month and this one also. I did go to visit friends in 1990 in winter to Glen Falls, NY and took a ski lesson in Vermont. Not doing that again. Sitting in a whirlpool out in the cold was interesting. Also not doing that again. I like it cool, but not frigid. Give me Spring.
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