Maybe it’s just a fluke. Maybe it’s climate change. Whatever the reason, the Mercury has been climbing around the Puget Sound. From the desperate depths of winter, we’ve seen an accidental glimpse of spring.

The humans in my neighborhood poke their heads out of their dusty, shut-in homes to see the sun shining in an unnaturally blue sky. To everyone’s astonishment, there are buds on the trees and birds in the air. Ships are basking in the glittering bay. Windows are thrown open. Convertibles take to the streets. People walk outside for the first time in months and the hum of overdue projects carries over the fence.

I fill my lungs with cool air. There is a Christmas tree to take down and cut up. Windshield wipers need to be changed. It’s time to pick a site for a future raised garden bed.

The warmth and sunshine will only last a few days, if we’re lucky. Soon, it will be cold and grey again. But for one beautiful day, we were reminded that there is life after winter. That might be enough to hold onto until the real thing arrives.

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Jonny Eberle is a writer and warm weather doer of chores. You can follow him on Twitter.