Well, although the signals have been decidedly mixed, I believe it is safe to say that Spring has arrived. In “The Wasteland” poet T.S. Eliot noted that April is the cruellest month, but he was not referring to the crazy April we have had thus far. His was more the lament of an anguished soul that wanted to hibernate and hide beneath the snows of winter, tormented by the reawakening earth. Read a bit of his biography and you’ll understand why. Depressing.

But back here in upstate New York, we want to believe that April is a month that brings us hope and warmth for our weary bones. We don’t long for snow at all. And yet, snow we have received. I find that lamentable.

Thank goodness the daffodils haven’t surrendered. Those cheery yellow blooms smile resolutely in the face of weather’s worst. And the forsythia blooms, the flowering trees are ready to pop, and we have had some gloriously warm days. Around my neighborhood, which suffered greatly during this winter’s ice storm, there are still mounds of limbs and branches on the edges of lawns. I saw a resourceful robin hopping about in there, no doubt looking for some building materials for a cozy nest.

We are all more than ready to put away our winter coats and boots and take the snow brushes out of our vehicles.

I know that we are supposed to expect temperatures between 39 and 59 in our part of the world during the month of April, but I think it very unfair that we must expect snow in our April forecasts. For that reason, I am almost ready to agree with Mr. Eliot that April is a cruel month. Not the cruellest, perhaps. I’d save that designation for March, the longest, coldest, most dragged-out, end-of-winter slog. March is generally brutal. My great-grandmother used to say that if you made it through March, you’d live another year. Inspirational, eh?

But here we are in April with the first flowers showing their lovely colors, the sun greening up our lawns, and robins returning to nest when we were bludgeoned with a serious forecast of snow mere days away from May. That, dear readers, is against the expectations I have had for April, and I’m afraid that April is not living up to its potential. As an educator, I must say that I expected a better effort from April. The only reason I am not going to give April a time-out is because it would just slow the advent of the truly glorious month of May.

But take heed, Miss April. You have been warned. Your capricious cruelty has been noted. Warm up!