It is a very warm day here in my little corner of the Midwest. Given that it was snowing less than two weeks ago, it’s interesting that it was over 70 degrees today. The air has that almost humid feel that makes everything feel a little clammy.
It makes things interesting. Given that it’s the first day of spring today, the warm temperatures provide the urge to convert everything to spring. This means taking the down comforter off the bed and replacing it with something lighter and taking out the clothes I packed up at the end of last summer and switching them with my winter sweaters.
It’s still too early, however. By Thursday, the schizophrenic nature of the Midwestern weather will take us back to the low 40s. I suspect people will be shivering.
What’s interesting is that just a few weeks ago, we would have been rejoicing at the sound of temperatures in the 40s. We would have taken off our winter jackets and embraced the balminess of the higher temperatures.
Yet now we’ve had a taste of warmer weather, we’re greedy and ungrateful and we balk at such coldness that doesn’t belong in the Springy world of outside.
My theory is to just go with it. I like the fact that we haven’t settled on a climate yet. I like that we’re still in for some cold nights before it starts to stay warm for good. I sleep best when it’s cold outside. The pups do too. We snuggle together and wake up rested and groggy. It’s hard to achieve that same level of unconsciousness when it’s balmy outside. Even when it’s time for the air conditioning to come on, you can’t fake yourself into sleeping as deeply as you do when it’s winter and hibernation feels like a tempting prospect.
Yet even with the colder temperatures, it’s pretty clear that spring is here to stay. My garden and the others around me are boasting golden clusters of daffodils. The tulips are coming up and will have their turn to bloom in a month.
Unfortunately, with the spring flowers, the weeds are starting to appear too. My garden is coming back to life with more green popping up in the muddy soil every day.
The grass has also started to grow which means that it will soon be time to mow. As I’ve mentioned, it’s not my favourite task but I do rather like coming home from work, mowing the lawn and then relaxing on the deck with the puppies as I admire how much tidier the back yard looks.
All the signs that winter is passed and spring has her grip are appearing. Unfortunately, like the weeds, the signs are not all good. The Dog Whisperer has taken to leaving his beasts out for longer periods of time which means their annoying yips are driving me a little crazy. I have decided that this year, if I’m working outside in the yard and the dogs next door still continue to bark non-stop, I’m going to talk to the Dog Whisperer or, more likely, Wife of Dog Whisperer. I’ve now lived in my house for over a year and have one summer under my belt. Thus, the fact that they said their dogs would get used to me and stop barking has become a bit of a lie. Also, since the dogs bark at every living thing that moves, it’s unlikely that they ever ‘get used’ to things. It’s just hard to relax in the warm spring air when there’s three dogs barking persistently through the fence.
The barking dogs are a nuisance but not enough to deter me or the pups from staying outside. We’ve already inspected the garden to see what signs of life there are. Most everything is coming back to life with the exception of one rose bush that clearly didn’t survive the winter. More likely, it didn’t survive the fact that two dachshunds decided to make it a digging site and it’s now practically sitting on top of the earth rather than being embedded in it.
Yet, dead rose bushes aside, the rest of the landscape is growing greener by the day as if someone is slowly dragging a paintbrush over it. The grey days of winter seem to have passed and Spring has taken her hold.
Despite the fact that I’ll miss the snow and coziness of winter, it’s time to let go and embrace the brighter days of spring and summer.
I don’t think that will be too hard.
Happy First Day of Spring!
No comments:
Post a Comment