Spring, Spring...Wherefore Art Thou, Spring?

Spring seems to have sprung...

Well, at least as far as my daffodils and tulips are concerned.

Me?

Nope. Nada. It ain't happened...

Yet.

I  am reservedly optimistic that Spring will arrive...
Sometime.

Hopefully BEFORE Independence Day...

Hey, I'll even be really  optimistic and say before...

Father's Day?

BratChild and SIX have begun their lacrosse season,
and typically, this would signal the advent of Spring.

St.Patrick's Day SNOW... 3/17/2014... UGH!

But, I regret to say, NOT this year.

THIS year we had SNOW for St. Patrick's Day...
THIS year it is a balmy 40 degrees( compared to the -8 last week that is) and raining on the 19th of March...
THIS year the weatherman DARED to hint of the possibility of SNOW in the coming forecast...

THIS is the WINTER that will not leave.

Tomorrow, promptly at 12:26 pm Spring will arrive.
I  have no idea how anyone knows it will arrive at any precise time...
Unless it's coming by plane and that is when it's due to land...

However, as the optimist that I am...
I will be waiting with baited breath...
Winter sweaters folded and ready to be shoved into a bin for storage...
T-shirts and shorts neatly stacked on the closet shelves they occupy in the warm season...

Just  in case Spring really does arrive as scheduled...
AND she remembers to bring the sun and warm weather with her.

Just when you think it's safe to come out.... it isn't! Just ask Phil the Groundhog!

March is upon us.

The days are getting longer and the nights are getting warmer.

The sun actually casts shadows and creates warm pools of light on the still frozen ground.

Soon daffodils and crocus will attempt to make their way to the sun-drenched patch of land above them.

But they won't be able to make it.

Why?

There's still 2 feet of snow covering the ground wherever there is no need to walk or drive.

The garden and lawn and hedgerow (that is now a tangle of broken and twisted limbs) remain hidden under ice-crusted snow.

The trees that once made a lovely blockade against the sights and sounds of neighbors, now lay sadly across the fence that is bowed with their weight.

But little things let us know that Spring is indeed on it's way, in real life, not just on the calendar.

The warbling of birds in the early morning, the increasingly visible bunny-paw prints over the snowy yard, little reddish-green buds on some of the early blooming trees, all of these bring the promise of a new season and with it new and much longed for life.

And the rainy season, and muddy foot prints all over the house, and dirty wet clothes piled on the bathroom floor... and interim reports and Spring/Easter Break...

Yep, it's March and Spring is on it's way...

Crap!

It's Raining... Again!

Hey there! Today is my mother's birthday. In addition to that we celebrated my oldest daughter's coming baby in the traditional way- with a shower ( how appropo is that?).
Again add that tomorrow is Mother's Day and that yesterday my oldest niece turned 16... this is a very busy week for us. Did I mention that my oldest son was 20 a few days ago and his girlfriend became the same age the day before that?
As you can see just keeping up with the goings-on in our family can be trying and quite exhausting all by itself. Now add to the equation RAIN. Yep, that lovely life-giving manna from heaven that has been falling from the sky every single day for the last 10 days without fail. Granted, not every day has been a torrential, never-ending downpour; but quite frankly many of them have. When I have made allusions to keeping an eye out for an Ark to come floating into my back yard over the last few weeks, I have been only half-joking! The rain came down so hard on Thursday the water rushed off my roof in such a volume that it completely jumped the gutters and fell like a waterfall to the garden below. Of course it continued this way for hours at a time off and on throughout the day. And again, may I reiterate, this is not the only day in the last 2 weeks it has done so.
Upon waking yesterday I was stunned to see a brilliant shining orb of such a golden hue it gave the appearance of a highway warning sign flashing across the horizon. I should have heeded it's warning. I should have realized it was indeed flashing a warning to the unsuspecting and oh-so-naive humans below. It was shouting out, " Hey You! Stop and Enjoy My Warmth cuz I Ain't Gonna Hang Around Hear All Day Long!". Man, I should have been paying attention. Perhaps then I would have spent an extra few minutes enjoying my morning cuppa joe and watching the hummingbirds and house wrens in the yard. Perhaps I would have taken the time to walk leisurely through my yard and appreciate the new green blades of grass and the patterned petals of my clematis unfurling among the emerald green vines climbing the trellis by the walk way. Perhaps, I could have done all of these things, if only I had paid attention.
When , you may ask, did I begin to notice the lovely world in which I live? When the storm clouds came rolling in and the winds forced the last die-hard blossoms from their tenuous hold on the branches of my cherry tree. That is when I looked up and realized that golden globe was obscured from vision by grey-white, slate and nearly black ominous clouds that were moving across the sky. And with them came the electrically charged air with the scent of ozone riding high and fast. Yes, only then did I stop and appreciate the beautiful day, er part of the day, that God had given me.
So today dawned bright and full of promise for a sun-drenched day full of the anticipation of the many lazy days of summer to come. I took note of this sign of spring and renewal of life. I made the time to stop and really become a part of it. I sat on the front porch with a cup of coffee ( or 3) and watched the high floating white clouds drift along. I listened to the 'Cheerio' of the cardinals and the 'thruuuuuuuuummmmm' of the hummingbird's wings as they came and went among the garden plants below me. And I made the time to thank god for his gift of another day started with such grace and beauty.
It's a darn good thing I did too! The clouds have already rolled through bringing darkness and oppressive humidity in their wake. They have opened their floodgates and poured down upon the already soaked to over-flowing earth yet more of their liquid refreshment.
Yes it's raining... again.