Last month, there was still ice and snow all around the cove of the Charles River in Newton’s Auburndale section, where Chuck Domenie's Boating in Boston rents and sells kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards.
And before Sunday, the water in the river stubbornly refused to warm up past the 55 degree level where they consider it safe -– making sure capsized boaters don’t face rapid hypothermia -- and minimally pleasant for boaters.
But as the temperatures soared past not just 70 but past 80 in Boston for the first day in 2015, Domenie enjoyed a steady stream of people coming to rent and shop for boats. “It’s really nice to get a bunch of people on the water and get the season rolling," Domenie said. “These hot days have made a big difference. It's jumped a lot in the last couple of days … yesterday we had a high of 64."
For all kinds of warm-season businesses around Greater Boston, Monday felt like the long-awaited, long-overdue start of the year. Golfers filled the range at the Leo J. Martin Golf Course in Weston where just last month there was still snow on the ground and cross-country ski season was just winding down. Cedar Hill Dairy Joy in Weston welcomed a steady stream of guest enjoying the first real ice-cream-stand of the day.
At the Newton Community Farm, assistant grower Dan Bensonoff was hoeing around newly planted lettuce. He estimates everything at the farm is about two weeks behind normal thanks to the extended cold and snow cover. "The asparagus just started coming up,’’ Bensonoff said. “Last year, we were working on selling our third cut of asparagus at this time, so we’re fairly far behind, really."
And at Russell's Garden Center in Wayland, cabin-fever survivors like Jean Dalton of Wellesley were loading up on greenery. “I'm supposed to be home painting my fence, and I thought the heck with that, I'm going to Russell's because this is my happy place," Dalton said. Thanks to a gift card from her daughter, Colleen, Jean was heading home with basil, dill, oregano, fuchsias, and more. "Everything is hope and promise,’’ Dalton said. “Nothing's been eaten by the rabbits yet."
Elizabeth Russell-Skehan of Russell's Garden Center watched lines of shoppers pulling carts filled with plants and noted: "Everybody's in a better mood than the last few weeks. That's for sure. People are out and they're ready to dig in the dirt."
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"February and March were so terrible,’’ Dalton said. “But that's in the past. We don't talk about that. This is all growing, good stuff."
