Monday, March 19, 2007

Tuesday Ten: Spring

Ten Things I Love About Spring

1. Sunshine. Three weeks ago, I was wondering "Will winter ever be over?" Then we got a lovely March stretch of sunny spring weather. It's really just a teaser, a taste of weather to come. We've settled back in for another stretch of rainy chilly damp. But, oh. The brief respite from that relentless February grey is like a balm to soothe the down-in-the-dumps, dragging-through-the-day February slump.

2. The garden. Planning, preparing, and starting to plant the garden. I wish I could bottle this new-garden feeling and uncork it in September when I've got garden burn-out.

3. It's not Dad's birthday. He's given them up. But if it were his birthday, perhaps on the first day of spring, I'd tell him Happy Birthday. I might just call him and tell him anyway.

4. Playing outside. Not me. Them. My kids are wonderful people. I enjoy spending time with them. But one of the things I love about spring is that I can tell the kids "Please go outside to play." Translation: "You must go outside right now before I lose my flippin' mind with all of the boisterous boy noise that doesn't usually bother me except for right now because I've been putting up with bouncing and howling and swordfights and indoor golf and car races all winter. Love ya." They come in happy and tired.

5. The hammock. Last year's bright cozy pink hammock was destroyed by lovely lady and an exuberant neighbor girl. Over the course of the summer they flipped around and around until the strands overstretched and began to fray and break. The gents and I chose a new one, sky blue. I wasn't sure about the color until yesterday when I actually tried it out. The sky blue is a restful peaceful color, perfect for swaying gently with a good book.

No swinging allowed.

6. April showers. I greet the sunshine with joy, and I love the warm spring rains. Walking around the block for puddle-jumping in our rubber boots is way more fun than math.

7. March and April and May flowers. Everything is blooming, including our gorgeous magnolia. Swinging in the sky-blue hammock with a good book, looking up at the patches of blue sky through the pink tulip-shaped flowers....heavenly.

8. Spring Break.

9. Shorts. Capris. Flip-flops and sandals. T-shirts and tank tops. No more bulky sweaters, cumbersome boots, layers, or long pants. I can get a pedicure and show off my pretty toes.

10. Nature Hikes. We can get outside with our sketch pads and our watercolors and our bug jars. An outing in the rain is fun, especially if we're hiking by the ponds, but once the sun comes out our outings get longer and more frequent, and those wimpy people who won't hike in the rain want to come hiking with us again.

Ten things Irie loves about spring.

Cristy loves spring too.

Laura is happy that spring is here!

Dawn still has snow. But she loves spring too.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about this "new garden feeling," it is wonderful isn't it? What a nice list and blog. I came here from Painted Rainbows and Chamomile, and will come back. By the way, every time we try to have a hammock, the squirrels eat through the strings! How do you manage to keep it intact long enough for your kids to destroy?

Cathy said...

Thank you!

The squirrels don't seem interested in the hammock, thank goodness! They do eat the chicken food, though!