SOON

It will not be long; not as long as it has been. Yes, the famous spring equinox that everyone talks about and anticipates. Everyone but me; I guess. March 20 would be a good starting point if we were in Georgia or another similar environment. It just doesn’t seem to amount to much in these parts. Spring will make it sooner or later but not quite yet. I don’t tend to think much about it until I see a hummingbird or eat some new asparagus. Then, it will be spring. Not quite yet; but soon.

Yes, there are some early signs of life. Wood Frogs quack, coltsfoot and pussy willows bloom and the poor old crocus gets smashed down by snow. It happens every time. Hey, it’s March. No need to get too excited. I never could figure out it out. I’ve never heard anyone say that they couldn’t wait for March to get here. Once it gets over with we still have to endure a few teaser days during the first half of April. We may be blessed with some good days; maybe even a week. But, it will not last. It never does.

Wood Ducks will trickle in giving us a glimpse of color and make us forget about brown, white and grey. Mourning Doves are already incubating in their rickety fragile nests. I never could figure out why they are so numerous. I guess it is because they start nesting early and finish late with numerous attempts. They can’t seem to wait for spring; either. But, it will come; soon.

The fish trucks will begin racking up some major miles and the rivers will once again be full of people and trout. Campgrounds will fill with hardy campers and everyone will be happy once again. Elbow to elbow fishing for fish that weren’t there yesterday. It’s fun for some but not for all. The only good thing I see from this is that the few remaining country stores get busy if they are near one of the stocked areas. The trout stocking program is good for the local economy for a short period of time. Personally, I don’t get any pleasure out of attempting to fish in a crowd. I usually manage to make myself go a few times during the peak stocking period. More often than not I get there; turn around and go home. Life is too good and too short to get irritated at things like that.

Sometime; about mid-month I will plant some radish and lettuce seed in an old bathtub add some onion sets and cover it with glass. The cycle will begin. Digging around in the dirt makes me start thinking of the good things to come. Yes, it will get cold again. I will start worrying and cover the glass over the bathtub with straw and worry about it some more until it warms up. I will carefully uncover it and peer inside. There they are, all of the pretty green sprouts. They are fine. They always are.

Yes, spring will come. It always does. Wood Thrushes will sing Robins will be running around pulling up worms and my Catbird will show up; telling me it is time to plant the potatoes. Not yet; but soon.

This is my March 2017 article for Two-lane Livin (c) 2017 All Rights Reserved