Predictions of a travelpocalypse this holiday weekend kept me close to home. Sitting in a traffic jam is a complete getaway buzzkill, so I stayed off the roads and in my yard. This caused me to notice that everything – the trees, the blades of grass, the tulips – seem so much BIGGER than usual. Have you seen the bees? They look and sound like helicopters.

We’ve enjoyed relatively mild winters in the Northeast until this year. Maybe everything needed a season to go truly dormant. Was the polar vortex Mother Nature’s way of triggering a rebirth? Or am I simply more appreciative after hibernating for 5 months? Whatever the case, I encourage you to get outside. And bring a baseball bat – for the bees.