Recent rain and chill to the contrary, spring has mostly reached our shores, and the season ahead has come into sight. The daffodils are blooming in places, the forsythia is golden, robins are rampant, ospreys have returned to their summer homes. Surest sign of all, houses that have been locked and boarded are blooming like flowers themselves, with doors and windows open and furniture being reintroduced to porches. A time of reflection, a time of anticipation, a time of affirmation and of conservation. It's April, and new life is beginning all around us.