As a confirmed northerner with a slight subtropical disposition, I enjoy experiencing four full-bodied seasons every year although sometimes the summers are a bit too short for my taste. A local joke comes to the fore with some regularity: This year, the summer fell on a Tuesday. In a few odd years it is no joke, but the actual case. Some of my good neighbours, however, complain about the shortness of the winters and their increasing lack of bite in the recent years. With the outlays on heating oil and winter tyres, they have had their money’s worth this year, I dare say. I certainly like to be able to see the ground again and, not least, to see the early flowers and the green tips of sprouts coming up around the bush beds.