March 19, 2025
Over the course of the last week, the snow has melted
away. I don’t know if I can tell you just how happy I am about this fact. On
top of that, today has dawned sunny and warm. I’ve already checked the
forecast. It promises the temperature will rise above 65 by this afternoon. And
while Spring will not officially arrive until 5:01am tomorrow morning, as noted
on the calendar, I feel it’s safe to announce that Spring has indeed sprung.
Now, we still may get snow between today and the end
of May. It’s happened more times in the past than I can recall. But that, of
course will be a spring snow and not a winter one. And yes, also of course, it’s
all a matter of one’s perspective—or one’s attitude. A great deal of how we
interpret things in life really is.
The weather will, according to this same forecast, begin
to turn chilly after today—who couldn’t have guessed that? But I will celebrate
the moments while they are here and take time to appreciate the warmth of sun
and air while it lasts.
I’ve mentioned in the past that ours is a corner
property. We have a back door, accessed by the cross street, which is in fact on
a hill that rises from east to west, and on the south side of our house. We
have an enclosed back yard, and therefore a gate via which to enter and exit
the yard. In the good weather (read: weather without mounds of snow or frozen
gates) we use that back gate to cart our trash to the street for our weekly trash
pick-up. It’s a straight, no-stairs, not very long trek.
A side note: we also use this gate to bring in our
groceries in “good” weather. We have a garden cart that David fetches to the
road. I pull the car over on that hill—emergency flashers blinking—and he can easily
put the groceries from car to cart, then pull that cart to the back door. Yes,
there’s one step down into the kitchen, but otherwise this is a much easier way
to cart our shopping in.
However, during the times when the gate is frozen
shut, we have to keep our garbage cans and recycle containers on our front porch
(and lug groceries by hand up the steps to the porch). The good news is the
porch is covered, and the bins are generally free from having to be dug out at
any given time.
The bad news is that they are on my front porch for
all the world to see. I truly hate that, as I hate little else in this life.
But as of last night, when I kind of insisted, the
porch is now clear of such blight. I will tell you that my porch is nothing
much to look at. But there are chairs there for folks to sit on and watch the
street. Further into spring, there will be plenty of plants as well. I generally
have two “window boxes” of plants that hang from the railing; and four potted,
profusely flowering plants that hang along the top of the porch. We also have
nice, serviceable cushions to pad the three metal-framed chairs as well as a
small table in between two of them to allow for a place for coffee mugs to
rest.
My front porch is certainly not fancy, but it is my
front porch and a lovely place to sit and think when the mood strikes.
David gets the most use of the porch, as he loves
being outside. He spent the last forty years of his working life in a job that
was outside year-round. I will sit out on the porch from time to time, but
because of my arthritis I have to be aware of the breeze. David doesn’t have
that problem. He’ll be sitting out even when I think it’s far too chilly to do
so.
He’s been out there quite a bit since the snow left,
and I can tell you that his ability to do so has brightened his mood
considerably.
Soon, the grass and the plants will awaken to this new
spring and its new possibilities. We anticipate the green that will become a
part of the view out our windows and from our porches. But in this moment, the
sense that everything is fresh and new and waiting is the essence of the promise
of spring.
And in this moment, we can sigh that the worst of the
winter of 2024-2025 is behind us. The best really is yet to come.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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