Bring it On!

Warm days. Cool Nights. Random thunderstorms. The muddy smell of a constantly damp Earth.

I love Spring!

The past month has given us several warm days with open windows, followed my even more days of cold days, bundled up in coats. This week is not going to be any different. Today was around 70 degrees, the next few days are going to be the same. Warm days with cool rainy nights. By the end of the week we will be needing our jackets again.

Tonight’s thunderstorm came a bit too early and rained out a Cub Scout hike the big kids had planned. The kids got home moments before the sky opened up, bringing excitement with intense lighting and terrifying thunder. It also brought an extended Bedtime Shuffle with kids just a little too excited to get into bed. Eventually after much running around and lots of explaining about the science of thunder storms, the storm was over and the kids settled in.

Spring also means garden planning and starting veggie seeds. We don’t actually have anywhere to put our veggies this year, but I am going to start as many seeds as I can. Last year was rough on us without a garden to find breakfast, lunch and dinner in. In past years, we had gardens big enough that we could find something to eat for every meal and when the kids were outside playing and they wanted a snack, they would just find some ripe snacks to harvest and eat.

I love pulling warm, ripe tomatoes off the vine and sharing them with my kids. I could eat fresh squash and zucchini, marinated and grilled for every meal and not want anything more.

I used to try to plant flowers. I haven’t planted any in years but have bulbs and rhizomes and they come back every year. For now that works perfectly for us. It is hard enough to find the time to take care of the garden at all, so now we just stick with planting food and let the flowers come up in their own time.

My yellow crocuses are fading away now while my purple ones pop up behind them. Over the next 6 months we can look forward to Lily of the Valley, Hosta, Day Lily, Stargazer Lily, Daffidils, several types of Tulips, tall Iris, short Iris, and Peonies. I noticed that the Lilac bushes are budding and so are the Dogwood trees.

Bring it on Spring, I am ready!