Ready for spring fever
…March is finally here, and as we count down the days until the first official day of spring, I can’t help but feel good about what lies ahead. Soon the days will be getting longer, the weather will be warmer, and I will finally be able to kick Old Man Winter to the curb and get ready to enjoy some pleasant weather with a “spring” in my step.
(Of course, my positive vibe is also met with a few unpleasant realities: That I need to lose some weight before I even think about putting on a pair of shorts, and that my wife has already begun putting together her exhaustive list of spring and summer “Home Improvement” projects. Oh joy.)
Ah, spring, a wonderful time of year. It’s also a time when the rest of the county thaws out from hibernation and we start to see a wide array of events being held.
The spring season also means it’s the Easter holiday, and an Easter event was brought to my attention. I was told that the third annual Nanny’s Team “Easter Egg Hunt for a Cure” will be held on Saturday, March 26 at Wana B Park in Carmichaels, beginning at 12 p.m. The egg hunt will begin at 1:30 p.m. This fundraiser benefits Greene County Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Nanny’s Team. Admission is $5 per child, and there is no cost for adults. Admission includes the egg hunt (with prize eggs), a visit with the East Bunny, games, activities and face painting. There will be a Chinese Auction, a 50/50 drawing, and many fun auction items including toys and tickets/free admission to various fun family/children’s places. Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase. For more info, email nannysteam@hotmail.com.
I was also informed that the Pittsburgh Area Artists Blacksmiths Association (PAABA) and the Appalachian Blacksmiths Association will hold the 28th annual Hammer-In at W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop in Rices Landing on Saturday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Take a tour of the century-old machine shop and foundry with machinery and tools dating back to 1870. Watch demonstrations beginning at 9 a.m. of blacksmiths demonstrating their art. Blacksmith tools will also be available for purchase. An auction at 1 p.m. will host a variety of handcrafted iron work. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, the PAABA, and the Appalachian Blacksmiths Association. Lunch and refreshments will be available for purchase from the Rices Landing Fire Department. For more info about the Hammer-In, call 412-464-4020.
These are just a couple of upcoming spring events that I’ve been informed about, and I know there will be much more info coming in the near future about other exciting spring events. So be sure to keep reading this column, as well as our weekly County Calendar, for more info.
I love the beginning of spring because it’s the start of a busy schedule of numerous fun springtime events for folks of all ages, such as the Ramp Festivals, the annual GNP concert, Relay For Life and many more.
I want to thank the many folks who send us information about the many upcoming events week in and week out. In fact, just as I type this column I have received quite a few emails from folks who not only have info about upcoming events, they also have many ideas for “feel good” stories that will be great articles for our publication. Please keep ’em coming, because we love to share the upcoming events and good news with our readers. If you have anything that you would like us to share, please call us at 724-852-2251 or see our email contact info below…
…So, is everyone ready for spring? Heaven knows I am. And I am happy to report that we are just 16 days away from the first day of spring. And this time of year also means that we are getting ever so closer to Daylight Saving Time, when we set the clocks ahead one hour. (This will happen on Sunday, March 13.) Yes, we lose an hour of sleep, but the good news is that we will enjoy daylight a little while longer each day.
(The extra hour of daylight will once again undoubtedly cause a great debate between me and a few of my friends, in which we argue over whether or not we gained or lost an hour of sleep. No matter how many years go by, we always waste an hour over this silly argument.)
I look forward to this time of year, because the Daylight Saving Time weekend means that we are another step closer to the official start of spring. The only bad news? It’s also the time of year that my wife gets serious about the annual dreaded ritual known as “Spring Cleaning.” Oh joy, a full week of vacuuming, dusting, washing floors and windows, moving furniture, putting away the winter clothes and sorting through the summer stuff, and throwing away endless amounts of clutter collected during the winter months. Something tells me that by the time we are finished I will be longing for a cold front to return, so I could go back to hibernating…
…Oh, and speaking of Daylight Saving Time: This is the traditional time of year that I remind readers of some information that was passed on to me a few years back by the county’s emergency management services department: Daylight Saving Time is the perfect time to change the battery in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and to maybe think about getting more than one smoke detector installed in your home.
I have also had emergency management personnel tell me in the past that when fire departments respond to emergency calls they typically find that many houses do not have detectors installed. Officials also wanted us to remind everyone that houses that have more than one floor should have a working detector on each floor, and all smoke detectors should be thoroughly checked to make sure they are working properly.
This is all good advice that we hope our readers will take to heart…