An apple a day keeps ... The worm population in check!
If it looks like spring, feels like spring and smells like spring, then it must be spring! Not so fast! This is New England, dear readers. They have a saying here that if you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a minute.
I was looking out my window onto that reasonable facsimile of a front yard. It appears that the flora is keenly aware of that adage. In spite of the bright sun and a temperature of 65 degrees, they are not going to be lulled into the same sense of false security that has befallen us. Too many of their ancestors had been lost to killing frosts as late as into May.
The fauna, namely the squirrels and the birds, have taken the bait, alas. Not a single plant, flower, shrub or tree have been tempted to bud. Even the Forsythia remains barren. The knife-like blades of the tulip leaves have broken the surface in the back yard, but they are hardy and will survive an interment beneath snow.
Looking ahead, when possibility of snow is no longer a threat, it will be nice to see the grass turning green, the Forsythia decked out in its bright yellow leaves, and the little pink flowers of the crab apple tree moving in a light breeze.
Shortly thereafter, the grass will begin to reach netherward, the dandelions will flourish and ... I'll being cursing, trying to get the lawn mower to start!
....Ah! I love that sweet smell of the pre-spring air. I find myself reveling in the nippy remnants of winter.
There you have it, the catch-22 of New England's transition from winter to spring. No sooner do you put the snow blower and shovels away and dig out the lawn mower and yard tools, when the weatherman says snow is on the way for Friday! If I wanted to see snow, I'd have pitched a tent on Mount Everest!
The only thing worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm, is finding half a worm! (Trust me, there is an analogy in there somewhere.)
No.565
5 comments:
Amen! Tell it like it is, Brother Mike. It's a crazy place we live in ...
I enjoyed your post & your writing. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I'm anxious for spring! I'm not a fan of winter.
I don't find anything positive about being cold.
We've had weather in the 70's & 80's lately, but the next few days are supposed to cool off. That's okay as long as it's a "cool" off and not a "cold" off.
Enjoyed that post so much. Iceland unfourtunately has only two seasons: a really long winter and a sad excuse for a summer. Spring adn Autumn? You migth blink and they are gone!
The flora is kinda stupid here. This has been a fairly mild winter and already things are starting to bud. Killing frost is almost a hundred per cent and yet, they can´t wait to stretch a little and smell the fresh air. One would have thought that the ongoing Ice-age in this country would have given our flora more experience!
That's not an analogy Mike, it's half a worm.
Sounds exactly like here in good ole Michigan. It's that *transitional* time of the year... 80 one day, 20 the next.
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