April 3

Paxton has several reservoirs, which are protected areas that serve as clean water basins. My favorite is the Kettlebrook reservoirs, which extend just to the north of Route 56 that leaves Paxton, toward Leicester.

I went for a bike ride yesterday past this reservoir, and it’s hard not to appreciate the unspoiled view of the waterway and surrounding woods. This time of year it’s also hard not to notice the cooler temperatures of the winds that blow across the still icy surface and onto Route 56. It is a pleasure nonetheless to ride the afternoon in the sun dappled exposure on the road, not yet obscured beneath the canopy of trees that soon will be in full leaf.

It is a mixture of sun and shade in rapid succession with northwesterly breezes that carry the chill temperatures of thawing ice. It is April’s way of stimulating the senses through light and sound and feel.