Spring is Teasing Me and I Don't Like It!

Yesterday it was hard to believe it was the second day of March. The sun was shining, birds were singing, gnats were swarming, and everywhere you felt the anticipation Spring always brings to our little corner of the South. The high was nearing 70, and all seemed right in the universe.

Yeah, right.

Today, again, it is cold, rainy, windy, and we are under a freeze warning for tonight. So much for Spring, Winter is not going gently into that good night. Instead, it seems bound and determined to hold on until the last possible moment, guaranteeing no early planting or easy weather.

That's right, folks, it's tornado season down here in the land of the Boiled Peanut.

I've lived through hurricanes, him-a-canes, snow-canes, and more but the thought of tornado season always fills me with dread. They strike anywhere and at anytime. It's like waiting for your mother-in-law to show up with her crazy sister to set up residence in your basement. I would rather face two Katrina's than one tornado. But that's just me.

I will sleep with one ear tuned to the weather radio, waiting for that annoying blast of the tornado siren to send us all downstairs to the laundry room (our only windowless room). Until the winds blow constantly from the south and the cold weather and snow are only distant memories, I will keep a weather eye on the horizon and stay close to shore in case of emergencies.

After all, it's only 110 more days until summer!

A Hint of Fall in the Air

The past few days have been blissful here in the South. Mornings arrived with a chill and a hint of the coming change of season. They continued as clear days without the wisp of a cloud anywhere in sight until finishing  in glorious color with sunset and the return of a chill. These and many more wonders are the reasons Fall is my favorite time of the year, especially in this neck of the country.

Soon it will be apple festival time and craft fairs and funnel cakes will abound. Friday nights will be for high school football and Saturdays for watching horse shows and playing with my ponies. Sundays are for family and church and catching up. Which will bring up back around to Monday and more work waiting and resting up for Friday again. The cycle of life spinning another year from the threads of life.

I don't tend to get much work done in the fall. Outdoors brings so much more than the house, which I will soon be resigned to when winter begins his reign sooner than I will be ready. But for now, bring me fall. It brings the contentment my heart longs for, the harvest of the summer complete. Time to make preparations for my winter projects.

The years fly past faster every year. The children grow and begin going their own ways. Helpful Hubby and I both grow older and greyer each birthday and Christmas morning gets later every year.

But maybe I am only entering my mid-life crisis. I will accept that. Soon I will be at the jumping off point, and I can feel myself gathering to scream inside. I have a year to get ready for the big one so if I am going to crazy it needs to be soon. Maybe after fall - I can't miss my funnel cake fix.

Spring Excitement - Mother Nature has Menopause

Am I the only one within my generation who thinks the weather is worse now than when we were kids? We had some gully washers and frog strangers back in the late 60's and 70's. But even those did not approach the ferocity of the past several storms which have rocketed across our state in the past months. One group screams "Global Warming!"; while the other side touts Corporate abuses of the Clean Air Act.

I don't pretend to know why our weather is in need of a nice vacation, I only have to worry about weather when my real job interferes with my writing. When the two work together and I have to take time away from writing to fix problems in my reality then I tend to grump. This weekend has been one of those days.

By all appearances Mother Nature has menopause. Really, think about it. Hot flashes, crying jags, moody swings - if these are not symptoms of full blown menopause then I am not a woman! Human women take hormones and anti depressants and any other manner of artificial and natural remedies to deal with their 'change'. What, however, does one give Nature?

Would a large glass of Pinot and a 500,000mg Xanex help? Perhaps a trip to the beach with some girlfriends. Chocolate produces wonderful feelings in human brains, would it would on Mother Nature? Maybe that's why she created cocoa beans in the first place?

So how do we calm a planet wide menopause attack? I don't know, but I sure hope someone figures it out soon!