Care Package: 1. A parcel of food, money, or luxury items sent to a loved one who is away. 2. A digital gathering of cultural touchstones on ethandezotelle.com, put together to brighten your day a bit.

As I put this Care Package together, Vermont is experiencing a late-winter snowstorm, bringing with it a few inches of sugar snow. It’s not the massive storm predicted earlier in the week, and signs of spring abound. I saw a small flock of Canada geese heading north a couple days ago, and some overly-enthusiastic daffodils are poking up in our front yard. Tonight we turn the clocks ahead an hour, ushering in longer days. And as much of a drag as these late-season storms can be, they too are a sign of the warmer weather that’s ahead. Let’s celebrate.

POEM: After the Winter Rain by Ina Coolbrith
After the winter rain,
    Sing, robin! Sing, swallow!
Grasses are in the lane,
    Buds and flowers will follow.
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ART: Peter Huntoon’s Sugar Snow
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QUOTE: “Spring is not yet here, but the song of a solitary, pioneering blackbird when I wake, the smell of something warm and floral in the air in fleeting moments, these signs give me hope.” – Tracy Rees, Amy Snow
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SONG: Time by The Alan Parsons Project
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TRAVEL: Maple Open House Weekend, VT, March 19-20 & 26-27, 2022
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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: Sojourner Truth
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BACK TO SCHOOL: A Teacher’s Guide to Spring-Cleaning 101
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I spent a good chunk of time yesterday helping organize and clean the classroom I work in with an amazing teacher. (Shout out to Ms. C!) It wasn’t a top-to-bottom thing. Just getting paperwork sorted, helping the kiddos clean out their overstuffed reading bins, putting away 1,000 paperclips (don’t ask), stuff like that. It was super-satisfying to look at the room at the end of the day and see less fraying around the edges. Never underestimate the power of a bit of spring cleaning.