Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Why I hate spring

Summer used to be my least favorite season, but in recent years spring has taken its place. How could anyone hate spring, you ask? Well. It began with a series of Really Bad Apartments. All of which had been masquerading as perfectly decent places to live. Until spring came, that is...

  • Spring in Apartment #1 – Indoor rain. ‘Nuff said? Oh, but wait, there's more. Bats.
  • Spring in Apartment #2 – Carpenter ants. Inch-long ants with wings swarming in my living room every afternoon. Literally swarming. The nest was in my section of the wall.
  • Spring in Apartment #3 – Every other crawly thing possible in upstate New York.
  • Spring in Apartment #4 – Borer bees. Eventually even the mail carrier refused to come onto the porch. At least that got the landlord’s attention.
  • Spring in Apartment #5 – Pests of another kind entirely. Foul-mouthed children running wild. Winter at least kept them indoors, behind closed windows.
  • Spring in Apartment #6 – Centipedes. Lots and lots of centipedes.

So, yeah, I hate spring. Over these past years I've learned to dread the return of warm, sunny days. Sure, I sigh with relief the first day I can open the windows and leave the heavy coat at home. But part of me wonders what all that warmth will bring out of the walls this time.