By Veronica Burns
From the earliest times, the month of May has inspired poets and writers to expressions of wonder and wit. Emerging from its winter slumber, inspiration pours forth. Consider Milton, who wrote this particular verse in the 1600s.
Now the bright morning-star, Day’s harbinger,?
Comes dancing from the East, and leads with her
The flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip and the pale primrose.
Hail, bounteous May, that dost inspire?
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire!
May presents itself as a harbinger of summer. The grass has “ris”, as an anonymous poet once described it and with the rising grass comes the sounds of chainsaws whining, chippers chipping and mowers buzzing. Sounds that beat the beep-beep-beep of the snowplow. (Full disclosure, however. The snow shovels still linger on the front porch).
If you ignore that fact and go with the flow, you can’t deny the urge to spring clean. Throw open windows. Shake out floor coverings that have lain undisturbed forever. Even the town gets into the spirit. Volunteers have pitched in to assist in the annual cleanup, which spruces the Village Green, Station Place and Buttermilk Falls, among other landmarks. The street sweeper has been out early, trying to swallow the debris caused by the snowplow. Well, not just the snowplow. Winter takes its toll in many ways. That’s why we are so happy to see it go.
What better way to start than with Memorial Day? The Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department will be holding an open house and offering ice cream and hot dogs following the parade. Now there’s a rehearsal for summer if ever there was one. Need another hint of warm days to come? The annual 5-Mile Road Race. And how about taking down the ‘Icebox’ banners? We have looked at that snowflake long enough.
There are other May events that will help propel us onwards. The first service will take place at the Church of the Transfiguration, a little seasonal place of worship on Mills Way in Norfolk. Congregating there is a sure sign of summer.
The Farmers Market will kick off its season and once again, we will be able to buy local produce and goods, and at the same time catch up with neighbors and listen to music provided by local artists. Remember all those wonderful market days last year? Almost seems like yesterday.
Norfolk, by now surely famous for its concentration of artistic talent, will get things rolling on the creative front when the Yale Summer School of Art opens its doors this month. Norfolk Artists and Friends, a separate group, will also be starting theirs, culminating in a first-time Norfolk Arts Festival in August.
Infinity Hall’s Bistro, is celebrating its first year anniversary this month and appropriately, the patio will be open. What could give us a taste of summer more than dining al fresco? Signs of summer are everywhere if you know where to look. Among the performers at Infinity this month will be the Lovin’ Spoonful. Remember ‘Summer in the City’?
OK, maybe Mark Twain was right. Perhaps it is all spring fever. “You don’t quite know what it is you do want,” wrote Twain, “but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” Amen to that.