Though you can make any subject a conversation starter in South Dakota (like family health details that cross the border of too-much-information), weather remains our favorite opener. It’s the news of the season: two weeks ago, schools closed due to minus 20 degree wind chill – and yesterday, we were playing outside in shorts.

Lawn chairs have stripped off their winter tarpaulins, anticipatory of warm bums. The doves circle, searching for a safe nesting site. Where once Spearfish Creek froze into a mini-glacier, it now burbles with excitement.

Yep, my whole tiny town looks forward to spring. But we’ll keep those shovels handy for the blizzard that always surprises mid-April (naturally). It gives us one more thing to talk about…

(Vintage Postcard – Greetings from the Black Hills, South Dakota – sourced from Boston Public Library, without changes, on Flickr/Boston Public Library)