Yes, despite all appearances to the contrary here in Seattle, today is the official beginning of spring. When I lived in places with sunnier weather, I used to look forward to spring almost as an honorary summer. At least the last half was always nice — usually even "shorts weather." But in Seattle, spring and too often the first half of summer are just extensions of winter: rainy, gloomy and too cold for shorts.

And if spring weren’t disappointing enough by itself, we have to start this one off with a war. Sigh.