It's Here! Now Hand me a Beer!

Today is OFFICIALLY the first day of Spring!

Why is it official? Because I am sitting in my porch swing, blogging on my laptop.

Without a coat or gloves. That makes it SPRING!

I have been so tired of winter. Right now it is 70 degrees with a light breeze; perfect porch and beer weather.

This is the day that we have so few of it seems. Not too hot; not too cold. Not too windy; not too humid.

Just right in every respect.

Except for the 9-year-old dribbling a basketball a few feet away. On the porch. Where to noise echos and rebounds so each slam of the ball on to the concrete sound like the entire UK first string doing dribble laps.

In an empty swimming pool.

Luckily her attention span is only about 30 dribbles long.  Then its off to something else. Or its another question. Or its back to the basketball. THUMP; THUMP; THUMP.

'Hey Pap-paw; why does..... How does.... where is....' Right now all of the questions are answerable, although distracting. I can make a blog post, or I can explain how a small seed becomes a large plant. Not both. Especially when the weather is so distracting too.

This is the weather I dreamed about all winter. This is the day that kept me going in February, when the sunrise and sunset seemed to occur in the same hour. When stepping outside was an hour long chore, due to the dressing and undressing in multiple layers was required to avoid frostbite. When the sn** kept all of the grass hidden under a thick, white blanket.

That Feburary.

And now she wants to dig up the yard to look for dinosaur bones. Did I mention this week is Spring Break? 65-70 everyday for highs. And I will be at work. Everyday until the forecast says rain and 50 degrees. Yup. Saturday.

But I  suppose that is one of the reasons we value these days so highly; the rarity. 365 days like this may wear thin. As I read on James Lileks blog this morning; days like this are our reward for surviving the winter (I am paraphrasing of course).

I'm not sure it's a reward for surviving the winter, as much as it is a reward for BELIEVING we could survive the winter. I never doubted I would survive.

I just was never sure how many years older I would be when it ended.

Old Times I Ain't Nostalgic For.

Well, I think we are finally getting the Spring weather we should have gotten in May. It has been flat beautiful around here lately.

Temperatures have been normal, but the humidity we normally have in August has lit out for parts unknown.

We had our family reunion last weekend, and for the first time in recent memory I didn't sweat off 10 pounds just standing around in the shade. (Damn the bad luck; now I'll actually have to work it off.) And last night I spent a couple of hours reading on the back porch, and my book didn't turn back into a sweaty pulp like it normally does this time of year.

And we haven't had to run the air conditioner; money in the bank my friend; money in the bank.

But I am a realist. I know eventually the weather is going to change. First its going to get hot and humid, and then its going to start getting cold. And the snow will start. If we're lucky it will hold off until after the Fair to snow. Hell, it was only a couple of years ago we had 5 inches of snow in the middle of October, I remember several Halloweens where everybody's costume was a coat, gloves and ski mask.

My biggest fear is another winter like 1976- '77 and 1977-'78; the nastiest winters in recorded history in the Cincinnati area. The Ohio river froze solid, and people actually walked across it. It was COLD. We went an entire month without a temperature higher than 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

And the snow; 53.9 inches over the winter. Almost 4 and a half FEET of snow.

So why am I dredging up horrible old memories?

Because I have seen ONE long range forecast for this year, and it is calls for a repeat of the late '70's.

Ain't it bad enough we have to suffer through another Carter Economy; do we have to suffer through Carter's weather too?

Wow; Only my 3rd Post this Month

In my defense, May is the perfect time to be outdoors.

The weather is warm, but not hot; everything is in bloom (and needs weeding)the grass needs to be cut twice a week- if your lucky, and after a long winter cooped up in the house, I'm ready to get some fresh air- air that hasn't been breathed twice before and warmed by a furnace.

And we're not bored with outdoors yet, like we will be in September.

And I'm not the only foul weather blogger; a lot of the blogs I read have slowed down on posting since the weather turned warm.

Maybe its the languid scent of everything being in bloom that distracts us from the dark room and solitary chair.

Or maybe its a stupor brought on by hay fever; hell, I don't know

And yeah, that's my front yard.

Snow Day

Yesterday was a snow day for both me and the kids. I worked from home and the kids spent most of the day either outside or drying their clothes out.

They built a ramp in the pasture for their sleds that is about 3 feet tall and 10 feet long. I'll be mowing around the remnants of that thing until June.

And yes, they rode their sleds off of it.

It kinda reminded me of a Road Runner cartoon. The sled would run to the end of the ramp and fall straight down in slow motion. It was just like they hit an invisible wall.

The Young'un was right out there with them, climbing the hill with sled in tow and riding down toward the ramp. I don't know whether it was because she has more sense than the boys do or not, but she always seemed to miss the ramp. But every time they went out, she went out with them and stayed until they came in.

The new puppy enjoys the snow too. Yesterday it was a little deep for her to run, so she was hopping from point to point, always at the end of her leash. I had to untangle myself from the cord and almost every tree we went past. I have some video, and as soon as I can figure out how to upload it to this computer thing I might post some.

I Hate February

And I know why.

The days are short, cold and sunless. How in the Hell Phil saw his shadow in this muck is beyond me. I can't even find enough light to get my vitamin D. Or is it C we get from sunlight?

Don't remember right now, and don't care. I HATE February.

And I know why. During February I usually have a hard time becoming motivated. I can't even become stirred enough to check the Internets to see which vitamin it is we get from sunlight.

I hate February because of what it does to me on a yearly basis. There is no rush toward Christmas to keep me occupied and busy; any project I have can usually wait another day. Or two. Or seven.

I'm more likely to hit the lazy boy than I am the workshop on a weekend or an evening; a nap seems more productive than making sawdust.

But then the Ides of March hit. Grass starts turning a little greener; daffodils start peeking up through the morning frost and the new small leaves start sneaking past the bark on the lilac bush. The furnace starts running less and less and one day we can actually open a window, for the first time in what seems like a lifetime.

And I start feeling the stirrings of my motivation again. Spring not only reawakens the dormant saps to bring the plants to flower; it also brings to life the dormant creative juices that the darkest days of winter forced into hibernation.

I hate February.

It's the Purgatory of the year; the place we spend our penance in hope of the rebirth we have been promised. And every year the rebirth happens, and life goes on.

If we can survive another damned February.

Should I waste this weather?

The weather has been so perfect lately that I have been spending less and less time at the computer, unless I’m working.

Tonight I am supposed to be working, but took a minute’s break to play a little. I feel guilty for it too. The whole reason I’m not out in the yard is because I had real work to do, and here I am playing on blogs instead of getting some work done.

Oh well; I’ll get over it.

I don’t mind missing a good day this time of year; I know we have 3 or 4 months of them coming on behind. What I hate is missing a day like this in October, when the next time we may get a good day is 3-4 months away.

Screw it; I’m turning off the box and heading out to play in the yard for an hour or so. I do have a few tomato plants I could transplant; and the grass could use another cutting…