Nothing better than spring in the Ozarks

While running some errands yesterday I couldn't help but notice the hills and hollows in the distance. There is no question that emerging leaves on the trees have colored the landscape a special shade of green reminiscent of the "spring green crayon" I remember from my earliest days a long time ago. Gosh, when was the last time I saw one of those? 

The redbuds are in their final phase of blooming; flowering dogwoods are abundant. Lilacs and other spring plants and bushes add to the beauty of the close and distant views. And then there is the scent. A sweet smell rides the gentle breezes that bear witness to perfect temperatures in a perfect time of year. 

And, the hummingbirds have returned.

Who doesn’t love a spring day? I wonder if I can stand another winter.

While we had a fairly mild one, there was a day that stretched my tolerance. It was a crazy snow storm, one that brought eight or so inches of the wettest snow I have ever seen. The power went out because of the weight of the heavy snow on branches unable to bear the weight. I couldn't start the wood stove in our all-electric house, because the fire wood was so wet, not to mention old, so it started getting pretty chilly inside. Every time I tried to start a fire, it just kept going out. Our dear friends brought some dry firewood to help us out. I finally got a really nice fire going. The temperature started to improve, but a short time later, smoke started billowing out of the stove pipe and the back of the stove. The house started filling with smoke. I didn’t know what to do, so I closed the flu and rearranged the logs inside so the fire would go out. Our eyes burned and throat hurt. Just then, thankfully, the power came back on. I turned on the whole house fan, opened some windows, retrieved a fan from the sun porch, and turned on the ceiling fan as fast as it would go. Finally, the smoke cleared. We called the chimney guys who said it wasn’t a chimney fire, the chimney was fully open, and so it must have been the heavy snow on the roof that blocked the smoke’s escape.

That was at the end of January and I am just getting over the cough.

Last fall was beautiful; it was colorful despite the record hot temperatures last summer. The fall was heavenly. In fact, I almost thought fall could take over springtime as my favorite season. This has never happened to me before. I always considered fall as just a prelude to winter, of which I am not fond. 

But now that spring is here, there is no contest. I remember all the things I love about this season of new life. The activities of spring are exhausting and exhilarating. The promise of gardening and tidying up property, deep cleaning inside and out; it is lots of work. But it is good work--the kind of work that makes you feel really good about yourself. Even taking a shower takes on a new dimension. Showers are just more enjoyable as hot water soothes aching muscles. Soap mingles with dirt encrusted arms and legs and then swirls down the drain. When done, you feel like a new person.

A walk in the yard always reveals surprises, like the first daffodil, tulip, hyacinth, and crocus. Shoots from last year's flowers emerge, anxious to begin their new life cycles, frogs and birds sing their springtime songs. I just inventoried a bluebird nest and discovered five tiny blue eggs. I can't wait to see them grow. Until we moved to Arkansas, I hadn't seen a bluebird at my house since I was a little girl playing in empty lots in the city. There were plenty of them back then, even in an urban setting. Hummingbird sightings were very rare as well. That is not so in the Natural State. Making hummingbird food is a weekly chore added to an every-growing list. But, it is one I relish.

I haven't begun the vegetable garden yet, but that is on my list of things to do very soon. I planted a couple of tuberous begonias I ordered in the dead of winter. I can't wait to see them. I now have a begonia garden in front of the porch, enhanced with a few annual begonias I picked up at the grocery store. Planting, plants, and flowers just makes me happy.

There is nothing like spring in the Ozarks. This is the season for life anew, not to mention joy and pleasure. And, there is no place like my own backyard.

 

Happy Spring

Happy Spring!

I need to figure out how I barely noticed my favorite season sneak into my calendar.

Normally, I start counting down the days to spring in early winter. In fact, that may be one of my only Christmas traditions. But this year, I feel as though I didn't even see it coming.

Where does the time go? When anyone says the older you get the faster time seems to fly by, believe it!

It seems that in my youth, time seemingly stood still. As a little girl I recall how it was often difficult to find ways to fill all those daylight hours. That is certainly not the case these days. Are days still only 24 hours long? It certainly doesn't seem like it.

As a child, it wasn't uncommon to sleep a full eight hours every night. That rarely happens these days; I'm lucky to sleep six, and then it is usually not without a break or two. So the days should feel longer to me, right? They do not! 

When I was little, I remember having so much time on my hands that I often complained of being bored, having nothing to do. Perhaps it just takes longer to do things now because I can honestly say I haven't been bored in 60 years at least. My days are full with a variety of activities and projects--many of which never seem to get done though it isn't for a lack of trying.

Now that spring is here, there are so many things to do outside. The weather hasn't been very cooperative, with cold temperatures and lots of rain and storms. But, even from inside the house it is nice to contemplate working in the yard, starting with tidying up the winter landscape. We have had a few open-window days yet we still need the furnace for evenings. Heck there was just a freeze warning this week. I love open windows when we can let the outside in. The house seemed to relish the new sounds and smells wafting through the rooms. A gentle breeze seemingly blows the winter doldrums away. At least that is how I see it.

I am especially anxious for the trees to get their leaves again. This is always my favorite thing; you can almost watch tiny green buds grow into leaves that turn the landscape a beautiful shade of yellow-green. It is almost iridescent. Almost like magic, the yard surrounding the house will be hugged by the growing branches, laden with new leaves. When the tree skeletons fill in the entire yard appears smaller, compacted, and more intimate.

There are already flowering trees and some early spring flowers. But I want more. 

I've put out hummingbird feeders in anticipation of our annual visitors, due anytime now.

I'm pleased to see Bluebirds nesting in boxes in the front yard. 

Spring is truly a wondrous time. I'm glad I finally noticed it.

Springtime is upon us

Every year, I look forward to the coming of spring, my favorite time of year. 

Here in the Arkansas Ozarks, spring marks a real change of the season as the winters' short days and long, cold nights is replaced by warm sunshiny days. I grew up in Illinois where we had to wait for nice weather to catch up to the calendar. But here in the Ozarks, the Spring Equinox represents a real change. Oh, we may get one or two blustery days, but here, it is when the world awakens. 

Spring is a promise of new hope, new life, and new dreams with no better symbol than the magnificent Magnolia tree in our front yard. It is always a reminder to cast off the old and mundane, to replace anxiety with anticipation. We know where we've been, but the coming of spring is a belief that it is time to step lightly into a better tomorrow. 

I marvel at the subtle changes around me at this time of year. Whether it be the disappearance of old, dirty piles of snow or the emergence of tiny green sprouts poking out from a blanket of leaves, spring is all around. Buds appear on the trees . The landscape is awash with the slightest hint of color not seen just weeks before. The other day I even caught a glimpse of a tiny dandelion flower hiding among the leaves.

But it is so much more than that. I feel the difference.

There is joy in doing mundane chores, especially the ones outside. I just want to clean things. There are not enough hours in the day to take care of it all, but in the springtime, I want to. 

This is the time our daily lives expand out of our houses and into the great outdoors. Just the other day, I swept the leaves off the porch and back deck. I did some tidying up around the yard and after cooking dinner, decided to eat at the table on the deck. For me, it was a game-changer. 

Since the whole Covid-19 scare, and subsequent isolation from people and places outside my own four walls, it was just nice to sit outside where there are no walls, no boundaries, no limitations. The temperature was comfortable, with a slight breeze. Birds flew lazily from one branch to another, all the while singing their springtime songs. Further away, I could see flocks of them flying northward. A distant symphony of Spring Peepers filled my ears. As the sun set, it painted the sky with pink and purple iridescence. A tiny sliver of the moon was visible in the western sky. I was entertained by a couple of bats that flew erratically across the backyard, up and over the roof behind me. 

It wasn't just the buds on the nearby Lilac bush that enchanted me, it was my own enjoyment of my surroundings. As the sun dipped beneath the tree line, the light and all its colors drained from the sky. The tangle of branches looked like black lace against the sky. As beautiful as it was, I imagined what it will look like in a few weeks when leaves fill those spaces.  The chartreuse of those baby leaves are so beautiful. The special green/yellow color doesn't last long, but when those young leaves appear and the landscape takes on that special green color, it is wondrous.