Caught between weather and weeds ...

Still early Spring here in NW Pennsylvania and we are caught between the weather and weeds.  I know that I, for one, find myself itchin' to get outside to pull weeds, pick up sticks, etc. and the rains and soggy, spongy ground are still getting in the way.  Then there is the temperature.  It seems like all the dry days are bone numbing cold (especially tough on hands and feet) and the rest of the warmer days are too rainy off and on to get anything done outside. For those of us who have spent most of every day inside for the entire eight months or so of winter that we have in these parts, these days are long. We stand at the window each day to see if we can see buds on the trees. You know that when you begin to count the number of each variety of birds each day that you have been inside too long.

My grandson came to mow earlier this week as my grass was so tall it was making my home look like an abandoned shed, and he managed to get the job done in spite of too many downed pinecones and branches.  The wonderful person who mows my pasture to keep the tall grasses and undergrowth from spreading through my lawn and covering my house also mowed that day.  He was on and off that old Ford tractor that was pulling his trusty brush hog more times than I could count. I happened to see him several times dragging huge limbs out of the way.  I should have had those branches all cut and in the wood pile weeks ago ...  but ... alas ... too wet.  And -- by the way -- it rained off and on while both were mowing.  Ah Spring in NW PA.

The Farmer's Almanac predicts that we are to have a wetter summer than usual in these parts. Oh goody ...!  Looks like the weeds will win ... again.  It is going to be, apparently, one of those "make hay while the sun shines" summers. We will see.  Good thing we are of hearty stock around here. Good thing skin doesn't mildew. 

Dust balls, spider webs, dirty windows, and ... my friend Margaret...

It's that time of year.  Spring is here  -- or at least that is what the calendar says.   The winter sun has changed ... intensified ... brightened somehow, and, once in a while, shines piercingly through dirty windows, highlighting spiderwebs and dust balls, as if the time change isn't enough of an insult to one's way of life.  Here come thoughts of Spring cleaning ...  ugh. The good thing though, for those of us in NW Pennsylvania, is that it is also time to put the screens back in, open the windows, and let fresh air inside (if it isn't snowing) - after months of the house being closed up tightly to survive the cold and ... the heat bills.  

I eagerly await for the lawn and pasture to "firm up" a bit -- still too soggy to really work outside even with Muck boots, but ... there is the holding promise of warmer days. You see -- here's the thing. I would rather work outside than inside... although, I do enjoy a clean house.  I am a picker up of sticks more than a chaser of the ever returning "dust bunny".  I prefer the light manual labor of outside. I hire out the big stuff or ignore it as much as possible.  As for inside, I have all the necessary tools for the essential chores in order to get them done as simply and quickly as possible... including an ever faithful Roomba for under the beds. Yes... it is outside for me -- where I can wander about and take my time with things after several months of being inside in front of the fireplace. I am a fresh air kind of person.

Further -- must mention.... I also have my good olde friend, Margaret, to help out with the annual cleanup of the lawn and pasture.  Margaret is a 2007 Trail Hand Bush Hog vehicle with an automatic dumper. She rests in my small barn all winter just waiting patiently under her tarp.  She is bright red. Her cargo bed will tolerate 1000 lbs. or so.  She is a hard worker. I can load up my battery operated saws and trimmers, pile assorted rakes and my Grandpa's Weeder into her cargo bed, take off into the back pasture or around the yard and Margaret makes light work of it all.  Good olde Margaret.  Don't know what I would do without her.  She doesn't go too fast like the side-by-sides of today... just sort of fast enough to get the job done and for the pre-drivers license grand to drive around too. She is a multi-purpose vehicle for sure. It's almost time.  Am looking forward to it. 

Happy Spring....   May the sun shine on you. I wish you gentle breezes as you go about your days.

A lovely couple...

I guess I missed winter this year.  I only remember about three snows of any significance.  Odd.  I don't trust it.  It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. "In like a lion, out like a lamb" - only the other way around. Anyone who lives around here gets that.  No one in this corner of snow country trusts a light winter. We have seen snowflakes in June.

Here's the thing.  Mr. and Mrs. Goose have returned to my neighbor's pond... a sure sign of Spring.  I have been watching this lovely couple since 2018. They fly in sometime at the end of February or beginning of March, gently land, and stay about a week before heading north.  I like to think that they are resting up before flying over Lake Erie on their way to their summer home in Canada.  They spend a week here floating around and flying back and forth between what I call my horse pond on the east side of my pasture and the neighbor's pond right next to my driveway on the west side.  They are peaceful, gentle and absolutely beautiful creatures. They are the only two geese I have ever seen land on either pond and then hang around. They just rest, float, and relax. They ignore me. I am not offended by this even though I speak to them every day.

There is, however, a new concern now that there are bald eagles nearby (a nest just down the road), I hold my breath that the geese will have a safe and uneventful trip north.  The bald eagles are majestic and wonderful creatures as well, but not nearly as kind as geese. It is survival of the fittest... sort of like my whole yard, pasture, garden and the current status of my few remaining house plants.  And so it goes.... 

A Break from the Bleak

 

“Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonders where the birdies is… (Anon)

Well not sure if Spring is here or not seeing as we got about a foot of snow this past weekend, but I am hopeful.  There are other signs though.  I don’t wonder where the birdies are, for example.  They are all around me in large, loud clusters, and then there is the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Goose have arrived at my neighbor’s pond to rest before they take off for parts unknown. Actually, this is the earliest they have arrived in the past 5 years.  Early Spring?  Dare we hope? They spent a good part of last week there standing on the ice and then paddling around and repeatedly thrusting their heads into freezing water once the ice melted.  ???  They are lovely to watch for sure and they don’t seem to bother the koi that are just now coming closer to the surface as well.  I think there are about a dozen koi in that pond, and I have seen four so far. Soon a snapping turtle or two will find their way to my mulch to dig nests and lay their eggs.   I think it was the year before last we actually saw the baby snappers crawling out of the soil to make their way to water. (There are two spring ponds on my property - one of which flows into my neighbors’ pond – the one that Mr. and Mrs. Goose like so much. I think of it as their rent-free time share.  Anyway – good habitats all for snapping turtles.)

Now all of this is just fine, but this time of year also means the long battle of wills between me and one particularly ornery robin who tries – every single year – to build a nest on either the front of back porch.  No harm you say?  Well, no harm if you don’t mind bird poop all over your porch furniture.  Now I solved the front porch situation with a motion detector light.  Every time the bird flies in with a beak full of twigs, the light blasts on and --- ta da – off it goes.  The back porch is a whole different ball game. This bird, and yes, I think it is the same one every year, loves the ceiling fan on that porch.  I tell it every year: Mrs. Bird…  “You have almost several acres of land with loads of trees and shrubs to chose from, you do not have to build your nest on that fan”.  Last year I had to leave the fan on for three days for this bird to give up and move on.  The bird is almost as stubborn as I am.  It sits just off the porch on my patio table watching and waiting, poops on every patio chair and waits for an opportunity to move onto my porch to do real damage to the cushions and rugs there.  Not going to happen.  I can almost feel it plotting its campaign now as I write this.  I guarantee you – it will not win.

Now all of this may seem very insignificant in light of current events, but it is my life at the moment, and I am trying to give you a break from the bleak. That’s all.

Spring has almost Sprung...

Note to those of you in the snow country of Northwest Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas who have been in relative hibernation (I know you are out there)...

The official start of Spring is Sunday, the 20th of March. That's just three days from now.  It's time. You should have already been through all your gardening books and catalogs by now. You should have set out your mud boots and light weight gloves.  You should be ready to join those who have already found their way outside.  If Punxsutawney Phil can stick his nose out of his cozy lair, so can you.

Now is the time to knock down those "man-eating spider webs" you have been watching grow all winter.

Now is the time to put away the "why bother bras" and put on proper attire for a reentry into the world of no long unders or sweatshirts needed.

It's soon to be officially Spring!  So -- put on your mud boots and get some fresh air. Put the screens back in your windows. Take a deep breath with no fear of freezing lung tissue. (Actually -- check the temperature first just in case the weather hasn't checked the calendar.)  Anyway -- smile -- we are almost there.

We survived another one.   Yes, we did!       Oh -- Happy St. Patrick's Day!

If not now, when? It's a win win.

"If not now, when?" seems to be one of the advertising catch phrases of a new Weight Watchers' campaign. I like it.  Plus -- I think it can apply to any number of aspects of a person's life -- not just to getting control of a weight issue.  A few months ago I started to develop a bit of an exercise regimen after a period of relative inactivity. I was to the point of feeling like a real slug and beginning not to care that my feet seemed to be stuck in "slugdom". I distinctly remember telling a very good friend that it was time for me to get moving or just forget it altogether -- sort of a now or never thing. ("If not now, when?") I was tired of thinking about it.  "Just Do It", "No pain;no gain" and all of that sort of thing were running through my mind on an all too regular basis.  It was time to move, to develop a more active life style.  I knew it then as I do now.  As much as I love to snuggle under a good afghan while reading or watching television, it was time to don a good pair of sneakers and get some fresh air. 

Fortunately for me Northwest Pennsylvania experienced a relatively easy beginning to winter -- lasting until the second week of January. Around here winter begins in October, so I figure we are way ahead of the game. Although this week has been wintry, we have had under a half a dozen big snow falls in lieu of the normal six feet of snow by now.  I have made it a personal goal to be outside every single day since October that it hasn't been icy. (The potential to fall and not be able to get up is no longer a joke in my "group".) I have walked in mist, in rain, and even in sleet at times. It feels good.  Many times I haven't even had to wear a winter coat -- just multiple layers of heat retaining fabric. (Remember when all we had were rain and snow absorbing wool coats and mittens that would freeze solid?) Anyway -- I am in love with El Nino. Typical of us who live in snow country, we always are aware of the other side of the coin -- La Nina, but I will think about that later.  For now, with the exception of the occasional cold snap and foot of snow/hour,  I am simply enjoying the higher than normal temperatures and the lesser than normal amounts of snow. 

Just out of curiosity, I researched this phenomenon on the NOAA and The Weather Channel websites, checked out a relevant article by the "Capital Weather Gang" that appeared in The Washington Post, and of course -- closely perused my favorite and most reliable sources -- the two versions of the Farmers' Almanac.  By they way -- they all agree that with the exception of an unexpected "precipitation anomaly" (freak storm), it is going to be a really light winter for those of us here in Northwest PA.  Nice...  pleasant deviation from the normal. I have been witness to dandelions in bloom and worms on the pavement -- in December.... I also know that El Nino has negative effects on many areas as well.  I am seriously sorry for that, but you know what?  It's nice to have a break from hard winters around here, and since I cannot control the weather, I am taking advantage of that break. 

So.... Sounds to me like now is the perfect time to get moving...a window of opportunity that doesn't come very often around here. If I am wrong?  I will be in better shape to shovel.  It's a win win.  

FYI -- the official first day of Spring is March 20th -- just three days after St. Patrick's Day.  Just mentioning....  Is it possible that we will miss our Northwest Pennsylvania snow country St. Patrick's Day Storm this year?  I could cope if we do.  You?

It's the little things...and more...

I was out and about today and found that three days in a row of blue sky and a bit of sunshine boost the morale of almost everyone. This is not surprising, but what I noticed even more were the smiles -- affirmations that people had made it through a difficult winter and are still standing. Entire faces smiled - including eyes.  You don't always see that.  Everywhere my errands took me -- people were smiling for no apparent reason -- people were literally walking around, shopping, chopping the remnants of winter ice, shoveling, holding doors for others, pumping gas, speaking to strangers -- all while smiling.  It wasn't total lunacy; it was lovely. I have talked to people about this kind of thing before and this morning was no different.  I chatted with several smiling people as I moved through my morning. You already know what I found, but maybe it is worth repeating...maybe it is important to remember and  to think about sometimes - like now as the season begins to change.

It is more than just the passing of a long, hard winter. It is more than the little things that often make a difference in life. It is more than those first signs of Spring -- a little sunshine, a warm breeze, the song of a bird  -- it is what those little things call to mind:

• a hint of new life...
• a suggestion of the process of beginning again... a fresh start...
• a reminder to us on some level that it is never too late to become who and what we always wanted to be...

Then along with the suggestion of all this is the smile factor...it is so important to remember the ability of a smile to communicate with others.  A smile is so simple really... simple, but powerful. When you bring a smile with you, it reaches out to others; it changes the whole atmosphere around you...for the better. We are responsible for the energy we bring into a room, a store, -- into the world around us in general in our every day encounters. It's not so hard to include a smile. It's such a little thing really..but more.