The snow is gone (for now, at least), so I was hoping that today would be a good day for a state park hike, despite the weather forecast. No such luck: the rain started Saturday night and continued most of the day on Sunday.

But how can I be upset about rain? As all school kids know, April showers bring May flowers!

I’m looking forward to what this week’s rain will do to the flowers that are already emerging:

The lilac leaves are a good example of a Finnish word I learned today: hiirenkorvat, or spring buds.