Richard’s Almanac: Warm weather and happy egg hunters

What a fine day Easter Sunday was! The high temperatures and sunny skies seemed to elevate the spirits of everyone with whom I came in contact.

It was an Easter Sunday like those I remember when I was a kid. It was always warm and sunny when we wore our new clothes and visited relatives. And the day was made extra special with the knowledge that the next week school was closed. Time to have adventures with friends after a Sunday of family activities. I remember ham or lamb was the usual entree.

I experienced such a day this year when I visited my sister for dinner. There were assorted adults plus four children in their Easter finery — two of whom were my grandchildren. Two-year-old Andrew wore new topsiders with khaki pants and a madras type shirt. His sister, 7-year-old Avalene, was sporting a new light green dress with new shoes.

It was not long before they changed into more comfortable clothes for the Easter Egg hunt. The two other cousins, 5 and 7 years old, and Avalene were good enough to make sure that little Andrew was able to get a good number of eggs in his basket.

I sat and watched while eating my Peeps — my favorite Easter candies. Avalene and Andrew gave them to me — orange little chicks and white bunnies. These sugar-coated extra sweet marshmallow confections just can’t be beat.

When I was teaching upstate, my students knew of my love for Peeps and would always get me some from the Dollar Store.

But Easter Sunday in upstate New York always seemed cold. Many times we had snow. I remember one outdoor midnight chapel service with the chaplain and the rector dodging snowflakes so large that they landed on candles and extinguished them.

A lot of the variation in Easter Sunday weather comes from when Easter actually pops up on the church calendar. It’s been explained to me but I cannot remember the details — just that it cannot come before March 21 or after the third week in April — I think. I should research that.

Meanwhile, I hope that the splendid weather continues and we can enjoy those activities we love to do on this island — getting our lawns green, getting boats in the water, trying out new restaurants, bicycling or going for long walks.

Of course the spring and summer bring with them more people. But that’s good in many respects.

I was in the Shelter Island Pharmacy on Saturday morning and there was a line to the counter in the back. There was also a line of people waiting for a seat at the fountain.

When I asked a guy if he was at the back of the line, he said, “Oh, you get in front of me. I haven’t seen many people all winter so I am really enjoying this.”