The Roost in Spring

by Pa Rock

Farmer in Spring

Spring officially began one month ago yesterday, and so far, for the most part, it has been beautiful.  I was only seventy-two when ti season arrived, but have since aged gracefully to seventy-three.  So far I am liking seventy-three just fine and will try to maintain at that age for at least the foreseeable future.  

The grass has grown green and lush since the beginning of spring.  I have mowed the big, rambling yard one time, and it is ready for a second bout with my mighty "Dixie Chopper," zero-turn, riding mower, a machine so colossal that's purchase price was thirty percent more than that of the only new car I have ever owned!  But hang the cost.  When I am astride my big-assed mower, I am the lord and master of all the lies before me!

The trees have all begun leafing out, the lilac bushes are blooming, the narcissus have just finished blooming, the jonquil blooms have been gone for several weeks now - and the baby four o'clocks outnumber the ticks.  The dandelions are blooming, endless and profuse, stretching to every corner of the year and beyond across hill and dale.  The redbuds have bloomed and are starting to fade, and the dogwoods are in full flower, making a drive in the country something special indeed.  

Damn, but I love spring!  It is my favorite season of the year.   I even loved it yesterday when the skies suddenly clouded over in the middle of the day and it began snowing - and continued to snow throughout the day.  It did not "stick," of course, but Mother Nature made her point.  She was still in charge and far more dominant than either man or his silly calendars.

So, happy spring!  I am headed out on a road trip next week to North Carolina, a state I last visited more than forty years ago, but it will be quick, and when I return I will break out the old shovel and plant a rosebush or three, and perhaps a couple of more dogwood trees.  Then, if the sun has warmed the soil and I haven't broken an arm, I will also fill the outdoor pots with begonias or petunias or flowering moss - depending upon my mood and what is available - and I will put out some tomato and pepper plants, and perhaps even a few squash - the small, golden, crooked-neck variety.

Spring is here, but summer is just off-stage, and restless, and will soon rush in and steal the show.

Happy thoughts from my yard to yours!