Vermont is notorious for having long, cold winters. People know this. It’s not a big secret.But doesn’t that harsh winter only make us appreciate the coming of spring that much more?

This past week, Mother Nature decided to give us a special treat. Many students sat in class, daydreaming about what fabulous things they could be doing in the sunshine, cool breezes and warm temperatures that taunted them from the windows.

Each nice day lured more and more people out from their winter hibernation.

Students filed into gazebos and caught up with one another before class, enjoying the sunshine. Dog owners went on extra long walks with their four-legged companions, and professors didn’t mind the walks to their cars.

Has spring arrived? Or will we witness another decent week, only to have harsh, crisp temperatures thrown in our faces again?

It seems that all too often we get a taste of nice weather, and then crave it. We crave it like a drug, we need it in our system because we get ideas in our heads, make big plans and then bank on the sun shining down.

In recent years, we’ve had nice weather come and go, tease us with a few nice, warm days and then drop the temperatures back down lower than we’d prefer.

There are people however, who dread the spring, which brings about the end of the winter season, and with that, the end of riding and skiing. But most of the die-hards accept the fact that the weather change is inevitable and have no one to blame but themselves if they didn’t put in enough time at the mountain.

For people who can’t tolerate the twenty-degree temperatures, spring signifies the coming of summer, which sparks their interest and gives them something to look forward to.

Soon enough, we’ll be seeing Frisbees thrown around, people playing catch, and maybe a few games of volleyball or pickup basketball out on the blacktop.

Athletes will finally be able to break free from the treadmills and venture down paths outside, getting their cardio for the day while soaking up some rays in the process.

Professors can choose to have their classes outside, allowing their students to sit in the green grass while reading their novels.

The warm weather brings people together when you think about it. It does its job as a social networking tool by demanding people venture outside and make contact with one another. Who can turn down a barbeque or driving to class with the windows rolled down?

Most people can’t.