Thoughts of Spring

It's hard to express how spring affects me. Winters seem so long and bleak. Even the blizzards are welcome because then at least something is going on outside. After the mad rush of the holidays, the bitter cold of January, the muddy mess of February and the winds of March, April is so welcome with its gentle warmth and sunshine.

The early flowers, like Daffodils and Tulips, are blooming and the Forsythia is putting on its show. The birds have shed their drab winter coats and found their voices in an effort to attract a mate. You no longer have to wear coats and mud boots just to walk outside. People are out cleaning up their yards of the detritus from winter and working their gardens in anticipation of planting. And the farmers are going gangbusters in the fields.

By the middle of the month the first shoots of corn are peeking out of the ground. I cannot describe the thrill I feel when I drive along the road, looking at all the neatly furrowed fields and I spy that first shoot of green. It affects me the same way every year - I never get tired of it.

I imagine the farmers must feel the same way. That's probably why they break their backs, their hearts and their bank accounts just to see this sight. A farmer I knew back home was asked what he'd do if he won the lottery. "Farm until it's gone" was his answer! Farmers are the biggest gamblers I know. They place a lot of time, effort and money on a piece of dirt and hope that they can get something from it. Kinda like gardeners - only bigger.

Even though these pictures should represent a new field in April, they were in fact taken just last weekend. This year our April had a little bit of January, February, and March all thrown together. It was below zero for the first part of the month, then it blizzarded in the middle of the month and ended with flooding rains. Most of the farmers now have all their corn planted and are working on their beans. There was an old 'saw' that said corn must be all in by May 10th to be knee-high by the 4th of July. I'm told that isn't the case with the new hybrids they raise today. Thank goodness.

Now that May is almost over, the "gentle warmth" is being replaced with the oppressive heat of summer. School is almost out for the year and mothers everywhere are groaning. My garden is in and so far the rabbits haven't gotten too carried away. I imagine that the dogs running in the yard have something to do with that. The yard has been mowed, the grill and outdoor chairs cleaned, the garden tended, and the back porch had it's yearly cleaning. All is right with the world.