A Construction Guy’s Ode To Spring

  |  April 27, 2015
Regents_park_-_early_spring_(2326707275)

Courtesy of Cristian Bortes at flickr

Spring was only a few days old and I had a virtual safari outside my small farmhouse in County Sullivan.

Squirrels zig-zagging, communities of deer interloping in the yard and fields, an assortment of birds kamikazing through the warm blue sky.  Salamanders landlocked as puddles receded.  4 ducks and 3 geese surfing the super backyard pond.  The pond now so clear to depths of 6’, 7’, 10’ – with fresh snow melt that pushed the stale cold water out.  We humans aren’t the only ones celebrating the seasonal turn.

For us construction guys, spring is momentarily embarrassing as the snow that came too early covered the wood, garbage, materials and every brand of cigarette butt imaginable and was lost to memory.  Not so when the snow melts and each job site looks Chernobyl-like in its litter and debris and chaos.  We always pause our incessant forward progress to spend a few days raking up the sites so we don’t appear hoggish and uncaring.

There are few unqualified testaments to Hudson Valley life than Spring, when cold rivers shimmer, animals frolick, mountains boast and a solitary drive with the windows turned down can seem not only refreshing but poetic.

It’s like you need the hard winter to appreciate the Big Easy Spring.

EarlySpring

About Catskill Farms

Charles Petersheim founded design/build firm Catskill Farms in 2002 in Sullivan County. Continually inspired wholly by regional architecture, his over 275 new old homes dot the Hudson Valley, including Sullivan, Ulster, and Dutchess counties. His 20 years of Catskills building have given him broad perspective on how to succeed Upstate, be it with farming, building, small business, or just relaxing on the front porch.

Read more from Catskill Farms

Read On, Reader...