LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The reminders of winter are scooped up and discarded along Route 309 in Mountain Top as the sun shines down on the workers of Holmgren Landscaping of Hanover Township.
"The spring cracked early," said owner Paul Holmgren. "We were able to get out here and start getting to mulch and spring cleanup and everything like that."
It's the time of year when the rare 70-degree day brings out new life.
"First thing in the spring like around March, April to get trimming done, anything like that, and everything else falls into place as the weather starts to turn out," Holmgren said. "The breeze is nice; the sun is nice. When July comes around is when it's a little rough."
Budding trees are getting loaded up across the street at George Burger and Sons Landscaping after a week of rain slowed them down.
"When you get a day of rain, it sets you back a couple days. When you lose a whole week, it puts you back two weeks," owner George Burger said.
But 50 years in business and a dose of sunshine will help make up for that lost time.
"That's the nature of the business, and that's why some weeks you have to work 80, 90 hours," Burger said.
This sunshine is a signal that it's the perfect time for planting, as the cold weather releases its grip for what is hopefully the last time this spring.
"We all know when it's gloomy with the cold and the rain, we just don't have the energy to go outside, and the sunshine and the warmth is what brings people out," said Burger.
The spring colors are a reminder of what is just around the corner.
"I love it hot," Burger added. "The hotter the better."