March 29, 2023
The calendar proclaims that we
have been in the season known as spring for the last 9 days. I, however, am
still waiting for the requisite spring-like weather. Then I remind myself that we
here in this family hold that winter does exists from October 1 to March 31, inclusive.
Two more days to go, then.
I can still report that there
are happy weather-related tidings, even if it isn’t really spring, yet. Despite
the general lack of warmth, the sun has shone down sufficiently in the last two
weeks that there no longer exists any ice or snow on the surface of our street.
And, of course, the sidewalks are completely clear as well.
This is happy news for me
because it means I can wear my shoes outside instead of my boots. The shoes are
much better for walking in. I suppose that I will have to break down soon and
buy myself a new pair of boots as the ones I used these last few months are
several years old. I hate shopping for boots. They usually fit fairly well when
tried on in store. It’s only later, as one is faced with the reality of using
them to navigate the snow and the ice that one understands the truth of the matter.
No winter boots that I have worn in the
last few years make me feel very secure as I walk.
Of course, I can confess to
you that, since I know myself very well, within the next couple of weeks I will
forget all about the sensible notion of buying new boots before the next winter
arrives. Unless, of course, we have another snowstorm sometime in April. And
living here, I can tell you, that is not an impossibility.
David reports that most of the
seeds he’s already started are sprouting. And that turns our thoughts toward the
hopefully soon-to-be real springtime when we can begin to work on clearing out
our table gardens and filling them with fresh soil—and new plants. That is our daughter’s plan, and I’m leaving
it up to her to implement it.
The challenge for her will be
her father. When she made the suggestion in the fall, he actually sputtered
that he had paid damn good money for that dirt, and he was not going to just
throw it away!
I don’t fault David for being
thrifty. Some would say that he takes his thriftiness a tad too far—but you
will never hear that from me. He is how
he is, and so daughter will make a convincing argument for taking the dirt that
is currently in those table gardens and spreading it about to various places in
the yard that truly need “filling in”—especially those “damn ruts left by those
damn snowplow drivers”. There actually are a few places other than those ruts
that need dirt, and truly, after a few years of growing the same basic crops,
that soil has given us its all. Literally.
Meanwhile, indoors, I’m really
itching to throw open all the doors and windows and get that stale winter air
out of here. That has always been my first step in my spring cleaning ritual,
and I can see no reason not to do so again this year. Except we need it to be just a few degrees
warmer outside, first.
Looking to the weather network
for guidance, I can see that the first ten days of April look promising. I have
my fingers crossed that my stars may all come into alignment. For that to be
the case, there must be a just warm enough day to open all portals—and that day
must happen when I have just the right state of mind and body to actually get
some cleaning done.
I live in a constant state of
hope.
In the meantime, March break,
in our neck of the woods, is in the past for another year. It was a peaceful
week last week without the twice daily school bus appearances and the chatter
of young ones going to and fro. Yes, there is a bus stop right across the
street from our house, but none of those children live on this street,
apparently. With no buses or children there was a little less barking by the canine
members of the family. I’m at the point where I gratefully accept any reduction
in the ambient noise. The uninitiated would suggest that there is, normally,
too much noise for me to be able to make such a distinction. To them I scoff, and
mentally assign one word—amateur.
Where the dogs are concerned,
I haven’t changed my opinion. The pros to having them all here far outweigh the
cons. They make very nice renewable-energy heaters in the evening as they vie
for space on our laps, and they very efficiently take care of any crumbs or
other edible debris that may land on the floor. Having the critters in our
lives and in our home is a very good thing, indeed—even if it’s something I remind
myself of on a regular basis.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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