April 21, 2014
Are we there yet??!!

Can it be....really?  I'm not sure if acknowledging the fact is premature or valid. Could it be that spring has fallen finally in these parts?  Up until now I have found myself commiserating with the faithful, trusting red-breasted robins hopping on one, then the other little scrawny toe attempting to restore the feeling to their extremities. 

Will they ever learn to hold off when making their travel plans home for the summer, I wonder.  And what about that old adage go that it isn't officially spring until the snow falls two, three times on the robin's head? 

I guess it's a case of wishful thinking.  But after all, we've actually had one or two shirt sleeve days, and I'm feeling a little daring, leaving the house with my spring outer wear and even going sans socks for one glorious day.  I've stowed my gloves in the drawer in hopes of not requiring them until next fall once again.

And I even toted the budding amaryllis buds (passed to me from my dear friend Alice), from the basement and set them on the back porch to soak up some April sunshine. I gave them a shot of water and they're starting to awaken and stretch recuperatively after their endless winter's rest. Perhaps one of these days they'll gift me with some lovely blossoms.

The thought makes me smile.

Now is the time to contemplate divesting the flower beds of the dried leaves and spent stalks that have languished through these long winter months as the plants have lain dormant in the ground.  For me it's just like the long-awaited birthdays of my childhood.  Unwrapping the flower beds is such a sweet surprise, just as the anticipation of that special day always was. 

Time and again I am amazed at the miraculous regrowth as the spring days begin to dawn.  It's truly a joy to behold. 

All too soon will be heard the first lawn mower's purr in the neighborhood.  Can it be?  I think so. And oh what a joy it will be to cut that emerald carpet once again, and inhale the unmistakable scent of summer.  (And so soon will I be grumbling about the need to mow once again, for the third time in one week.....)

Am I but a wistful dreamer? I think not.  Because we all know that no matter its severity , the seemingly endless months of winter eventually draw to a close and what follows is, once again, warmth here in the Midwest. 

Time for me to find those gardening gloves and my rake.  I know I left them somewhere last October when I was busy hauling those fallen leaves to the tree dump.....and where did I put all of those short sleeve t-shirts, I wonder. They might come in handy one of these days after all.