It's the time of year when you can't predict the weather. Sunday was cool, windy and overcast; today, it has poured off and on, and we had our first tornado watch of the season. Saturday, however--glorious Saturday! Awoke to a gold and pink sunrise; spent the day on the beach, playing in the turquoise waters. The waves were rough, but the ocean was clear.

Spring breakers filled our stretch of the beach. Boys checking out girls; girls pretending indifference but slowing their gait as they passed a cluster of guys. I don't miss those days, but I sucked in my stomach when I joined my family on the water's edge.

We met a friend there, and he pointed out the paucity of seagulls. In New Hampshire, where I grew up, fat, bold seagulls steal your lunch from your beach blanket, and swoop down on boardwalk pedestrians, swiping their french fries or fried dough. Here, the few gulls I saw were scrawny and timid. I wonder if the passing pelicans (flying in perfect formation) intimidate them.

We spent the evening out, listening to reggae music on the back patio of an Irish pub. I love how the warm weather brings people out. There's a sense of lightness in the air, a sense of relief that our cool winter may have finally ended.