Region welcomes warming spring weather
After a series of snowstorms and a lingering winter, residents flocked outside on Saturday to welcome warmer temperatures and the arrival of a sunny spring.
At the University of Connecticut's Avery Point in Groton, children embarked on scavengers hunts by the water and peered at crabs and fish within touch tanks, as part of an open house for Project Oceanology.
Children — faces painted with designs of pink dolphins and blue sharks — asked questions of an instructor, who showed them a winter flounder and a skate within the touch tank aboard an "Enviro-Lab II" boat, a floating classroom.
Nearby, another group of children held crabs from a tank or looked at a large horseshoe crab, while others, in the front of the boat, learned about lobsters.
Elaine Lettiere, of Mystic, said she brought her 8-year-old daughter, Anna, to the event to enjoy the warm weather and explore their local environment. They learned about seals, looked at plankton under a microscope, tested the salinity of water and explored crabs within touch tanks.
"She's having a great time," she said. Lettiere said it was great to be outdoors after the long winter, recalling standing on the beach and remarking on the fresh smells of the nearby water and sand.
At the open house, children and families learned about summer opportunities at Project Oceanology, which offers both day camps and a residential camp over the summer, in addition to programs over the year.
"We're very focused on getting the kids out in the water, doing hands-on activities, whether they're on board the Enviro-Lab or on smaller boats," said Thaxter Tewksbury, the director of Project Oceanology. "They're getting wet, they're looking at things, they're doing some science and enjoying themselves thoroughly as they're getting out on the water."
At Malerba's Farm in Norwich on Saturday afternoon, residents also enjoyed the weather by browsing the assortment of flowers: orange and pink geraniums, purple azaleas and petunias, and bleeding hearts.
Maddie, the farm's 8-month-old cocker spaniel, greeted visitors and rested near the rows of flowers in between.
Owner Vinnie Malerba showed a variety of flowers that could be planted outside now and withstand frost, such as "Supertunias," a bright hybrid flower that Malerba said will bloom through the fall.
Flowers were already blooming on Saturday and a crop of cherry tomatoes and other vegetables will be ready for customers to plant within weeks, but Malerba's preparation began in February.
Every day over the winter — even in days with two-feet of snow — Malerba worked on growing seedlings to be ready for spring. But, with the bright sky and warm temperatures, memories of the snow may have begun to recede from his mind.
"Now, on a day like today, you forget all about that," he said, as he stood by a nursery of bright flowers.
At the Norwich Golf Course in the late afternoon, as people rode around in golf carts and practiced their swings on the green course.
Rod Aubin, a Norwich resident who said he plays golf in his retirement, had practiced and was about to play a few holes before grocery-shopping and having supper.
Under a warm breeze and still sunny sky in the later afternoon, Aubin said he was enjoying the weather.
"It feels good," he said. "As you get older you really notice the difference. There's more aches and pains in the winter."
Ben Lathrop, a former mayor of Norwich who works at the now golf course in his retirement, said many people get "cabin fever" during the winter. Since the golf course opened last week, many people have been coming out to enjoy the outdoors.
"Today, it was 70-something degrees, and we were busy," he said,
Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich
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