Is it just me or has this been one of the most beautiful springs we’ve had in a while? It’s the first time in a few years that I feel like we had a spring and didn’t go from winter to summer in a matter of days. Maybe I’m just more observant of it because I’ve been spending so much time outdoors. It seems like there have been many, many nights of “good sleeping weather,” where all the windows are open but you still need all the blankets on the bed and it feels so cozy to snuggle under them while a breeze blows through the bedroom.

I’ve also been taking advantage of having a front porch again. During the winter months and the earlier part of spring, especially once the isolation started and activities stopped, the porch became our dumping ground for items that we needed out of the way, but didn’t want to actually get rid of yet. We also had a few larger items to put out for the garbage piecemeal. More than once I looked at the growing piles and thanked the Lord that we weren’t getting any visitors.

As the weather got warmer, though, and our indoor projects started to come to a conclusion, the piles started to disappear, and the next project was revealed: refinishing the porch furniture. We still have pieces of porch furniture that were old when I was a kid, and it’s a testament to how well they are made that with a little wire brushing and a new coat of paint, they are still perfectly functional.

Of course, the kids were not thrilled to be dragged into this project, but since I spent more than one summer refinishing those pieces, they were due to carry on the tradition. More than once they tried to convince me that a piece was unsalvageable, but a quick threat to take the cost of a replacement piece out of their savings got them back to work.

It had been quite a few years since the cushions were replaced, and we decided that they were beyond salvageable. Our one expense was a new set of bright, colorful cushions that helped pull the hodgepodge of furniture together and helped cement the porch as everyone’s new favorite place to hang out. It helped that the Wi-Fi signal is strong out there.

My next plan to help turn the porch into an outdoor paradise was the most daunting for me: flowers. Growing up, the porch was always a mecca of floral wonder. My mom’s green thumb was unmatched.

I, however, don’t do so well when it comes to potted plants. Give me a field or a garden spot, and I can do OK, but something that needs minding and tending every day, careful watering, and an occasional trim or snip, and my thumb shrivels up and turns black.

Since the options for purchasing flowers were pretty slim in the early spring when things were shut down, I picked up a few flats of geraniums, one of the few plants even I have a hard time killing. as the Wonderful Husband got them transplanted and I arranged them on the porch there was a freeze warning. The kids were once again overjoyed to be called on to help truck 20-plus potted plants into the house.

Taco Cat was really over the moon. It wasn’t long before she made herself a lovely nest right in the middle of the little box of herbs I had planted for myself. A few more freeze warnings had the kids wishing that they’d had a few more brothers or sisters to share in their burden, but we managed to save them all.

We’ve made it almost two months now, and at the risk of jinxing myself, I have to say they’re thriving. Also thriving are the two different bird families that took it upon themselves to build nests on the tops of the porch pillars. I came out one morning to find the robin fledglings taking off for the first time. The other bird is a quick little black bird that goes in and out of her nest so quickly, I can’t even tell what kind she is, but from the chirps coming from her nest, I gather the progeny are doing well.

Another big fan of the porch is Duncan. He still hasn’t figured out how we go into the door on one side of the porch and then mysteriously appear on the other side when we come out that door, and it’s great fun confusing him. He also likes to find a sunny spot to stretch out for a nap; however, by the time he wakes up, he’s quite toasty and he will quickly run into the house to find his cool spot on the tile floor.

The other night, we were sitting out on the porch as a thunderstorm moved in, and I was reminded of sitting out there doing the same thing as a child. Although the streak lightning scared me back then and I usually ended up in the house long before the storm was over, as an adult, I could watch it for hours. In addition to taking walks as a family, we’ve tried to get back in the habit of taking a few minutes to sit together and watch the sunset, or wait for the bats to come out and start flying over the garden.

At around 9 every evening, a freight train rolls by. That’s our sign that the day is over and it’s time to head in the house. Over the years, the porch has been the scene for many birthday parties, cookouts and bull sessions.

I do look forward to the days when we can revive those times, but for now, I’m reveling in the peace and quiet of my little sanctuary. As I sit there now, rocking in the chair that was once on my grandparents’ porch, I’m so glad that I’ve had the time to get back to front porch sitting.

Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.