The Vernal Equinox arrives at 5:58 p.m. today. That’s the exact moment when the sun’s rays hit the equator full on and those of us who live “up heyah” enter the warm time of year.

Officially, that is. Here in Vermont, there’s still a lot of lingering winter to get through.

And nothing reminds Vermonters of this lingering than what we call Mud Season. It’s usually heralded by signs put up on the roads by the local crews proclaiming many of our byways off-limits to anything heavier than 25,000 pounds. That’s so the asphalt roads won’t collapse into bigger potholes.

And there’s the tire-sucking mud on our dirt roads. I guess it’s all test to see if we really want spring to come.

Up on Belmont Hill, Little Freddie Tennyson loves all of it. Of course, Little Freddie loves everything.

But most especially mud.

Welcome to Carding, Vermont where life always includes a dash of the unexpected. And you can find it any time, right here in the Carding Chronicles and in the four novels of Carding, Vermont, The Road Unsalted, Thieves of Fire, The Dazzling Uncertainty of Life, and Lights in Water, Dancing.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to subscribe to the Chronicle by clicking the link on this page. That way, you’ll never miss a story.

Here’s a sample of tomorrow’s story. Sure hope you’ll stop by.