TheBanyanTree: Moving On

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Our weather has been incredible.  We’ve had a string of warm days and warm
nights that won’t even end through next week.  It’s like looking through an
infinity window and seeing spring days going on forever.

I moved the leaf piles off my gardens.  I’m not quite brave enough to
totally uncover them at this time.  Even though it looks like spring is
here, we might still have some cold days ahead and I don’t want to kill off
the delicate stems of plants that can’t take coolish weather.  But it doesn’
t matter to those tulips and crocuses if they’re exposed to cold air.

As I move back the half frozen leaves, I inhale that earthy dirty smell.  My
fingers find those little stems that are searching for the sun.  I part the
leaves around them and will watch them mature as the days pass.

My son, grandsons, and I walked around Como Lake yesterday afternoon, along
with a parade of other spring worshippers.  The lake still had quite of bit
of ice on it, but along the shore and somewhat in the middle there was
water.  The water areas were filled with ducks and geese swimming, bathing,
and looking for food.

Birds are making themselves known everywhere.  I heard our resident turkeys
gobbling yesterday morning.  I couldn’t seem them, because of the thick fog,
but they definitely were having a discussion about something.

The finches, blue jays, robins, sparrows, woodpeckers, and cardinals are
hitting the feeders along with the squirrels.  My backyard’s been aerated,
probably by moles.  There are little holes in the ground everywhere.

I love going places without wearing a jacket or looking for my mittens and
scarf.  I feel so much lighter going outside in just my jeans and a
sweatshirt.  I’m still fat old Margaret, but I enjoy my illusion of
slimness, even if it’s only because I’m not wearing layers of clothing.

Maybe we’ll have a real spring this year instead of suddenly lurching into
summer.  Usually we have a few warm days, then a bunch of cold ones, and
WHAM! it’s suddenly 90+ degrees.  Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to tiptoe into
spring with warm days and coolish rainy nights and gradually move into hot
weather.

Maybe we’ll be lucky.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows
cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.
~Charles Dickens