An old friend surfaced the other day, brown and the worse for wear, but was then immediately smothered in white a few short hours later. Evidently winter was not quite ready to cede ground to the lowly lawn. The off-season journey this year has traveled down an icy road with few rest stops along the way. Some years Islanders get cranky with cabin fever. This year most appear dazed, too deficient in Vitamin D to do much more than shrug while lacing up the boots yet another time.

But here comes a human construct to raise even the darkest spirits. At 2 a.m. Sunday morning we leap forward into Daylight Saving Time. Whereas on Saturday the sun will set at 5:39 p.m., on Sunday the daylight does not end until 6:41 p.m.

Does the drum beat of summer echo not far in the distance? Perhaps not quite yet, but already spirits seem to be lifting as the anticipation of a seasonal shift begins. New life and new light beckon, and although the mystery of what the season will bring remains, moving the clock forward can have the effect of turning the clock back on the years.

Spring is a great time to be a kid, no matter how old one gets.