Was that a hint of spring?

Almost shed my coat, in my walkabout of errand running; got several miles in and found almost everything we needed for the nonce.
Reading another Ducornet novel, Entering Fire; it was published in 1986, and is pretty over the top in many ways. she tried too hard to be what they call transgressive, I think, or what many would call just plain dirty. However, I do like the developing themes, and I can see that she continued to chase after them in subsequent work: Nature being attacked by humans, families in bizarre distress, among the bigger ones.