Officially, spring came almost a month ago. Between storms the pungent presence of skunk should have assured us that warmer weather was on the way. But it has been long and messy going – grandchildren built a snowman on Easter Sunday. Then the real spring broke through here last Thursday, bringing with it one of the muddiest mud seasons in a long time.

Mud and sun aren’t the only emblems of true spring in the River Valley. Wildlife stirs and sallies forth from the woods in search of food. Shirley Fifield espied a fawn in her driveway early last Friday. Greg and Donna Trundy reported five deer in the field beside their house in South Woodstock, same day. My husband saw a sizable fox across our road in the Davis’ backyard. And we almost struck a chubby, all-by-himself wild turkey on East Andover Road on Saturday.

Maybe the turkey had spring fever: you almost never see just one.

Also, spring signs, crocuses are up and blooming – if they’re not hidden by plowed snow – and daffodils have broken through.

By mid-day last Saturday, the “rakers” were out and at work. For some, raking leaves, spring and fall, is mandatory, a rite. Not for all of us though….

Other rites of spring

Ah, beautiful last Saturday. When it was time to turn from play to tasks, we stopped in to Hannaford’s. Front end manager Donna Cunningham remarked on the upbeat moods, the smiling faces of all the customers that day, people who hadn’t felt warm sun and soft breezes for a long spell.

My husband pointed out a bookshelf alongside the Hannaford customer service area where used books were on sale – still are. Used books were on our minds as we had culled the book shelves at our house while the storm raged early last week.

What’s the used book sale all about? Bring your used books to Hannaford’s. Buy some used books there: the proceeds go to Relay for Life.

A rite of spring: Relay for Life is, and it’s one that involves volunteers in weeks and months of planning and labor. There are many committed folk who make Relay for Life happen, but most would agree, Diane Mitchell is The One. The Relay is scheduled for mid-May. Watch for it and help if you can.

Another rite of spring is the Rumford Point Little Leaguers’ bottle and can drive. Little knock at the door Saturday morning: two young girls and a boy after the empties they collect to support their baseball season. Half an hour later, two young boys and their dad knocked on the kitchen door. Theirs was the same mission: empty bottles and cans. I explained we’d given all we had to the first solicitors. “Gee,” the dad said, “we thought we were supposed to do all of this road.” Off they went, empty-handed.

Too bad. But then, I thought, what if they don’t get many bottles and cans? How wonderful for the two little guys to be on the road with their dad on a beautiful day, a real spring day, here in the River Valley.

Linda Farr Macgregor lives with her husband, Jim, in Rumford. She is a freelance writer and author of “Rumford Stories.”