Ten Things Tuesday - Spring
April 24, 2007 by Organic Mama
Hey, another week has flown by and instead of ridiculous flooding, we had 88 degrees yesterday! It was hot, sunny and perfect weather to take kids currently on April break to the local park. I am teaching this week, so my kids have been spending time with a good friend who, among other things, is a woodworker. My youngest declined to come along to the park so I had his daughter and Boo running around getting sweaty while I sat under a nice shady tree with Chili.
Ten facts of life about Spring:
1. Ants. Every. Flipping. Where. Carpenter ants love us and every April or so, invade our home looking for food. I love it when I find them floating in the honey my lovelies haven’t closed properly.
2. Wasps. Huge, black paper wasps, to be precise. When I was a novice rural dweller, I had no clue what the greyish ball I found suddenly hanging over the garage was. Since then, I have learned to be on the prowl so I can get rid of these grey balls o’ fun before they turn into massive, writhing, venal stinging armies. One year, the wasps built a nest right under the top step of the back porch. Didn’t take too many stings for us to get a clue.
3. College town flesh-baring. Let’s face it, when the weather gets warm, out come the flip flops, the skimpy shorts, the cleavage and or belly-baring tops and in too many cases, the copious amount of untoned, sickly pale skin. Oblivious twenty-somethings usually take this one to the limit and I love me some people watching.
4. Outdoor cafes. Cramped winter slugs no more! When it is finally warm enough to sit outside, there is nothing so fundamentally satisfying as sitting on sunwarmed metal chairs and basking in the increasingly warm sun partaking of iced coffee and an obscenely delicious chocolate creation. Yellow jackets? What yellow jackets?
5. Growing things! By the time the forsythia burst forth, any number of bulbs, shrubs, bushes and trees are days away from showing leaves and flowers. Happily, my Redbud tree, which was damaged by the heavy snow of two weeks ago, is doing fine. In an attempt to get the tree to heal, I used tape to put the broken limbs back in position; I discovered buds all over the limbs this afternoon! I am doing a bloggy happy dance.
6. Growing things2. Mostly the forsythia out means I need to get my arse in gear and plant peas, kale, beans, spinach… The tiller, bulb planter and the wheelbarrow glare at me if I don’t.
7. Mud. Such a variety of nasty muckyness can be found on my 6 acres, particularly the black goo on the bottom of the overgrown stream. Wasn’t it nice of my dogs to bring me some?
8. SALES. Most of the winter stuff has been cleared out, but some stores have some drastically discounted sweaters still on racks in the back. Ann Taylor Loft, anyone?
9. Yahoos with loud, blaring music from over sized, souped up mudding vehicles. You know who you are. Louder, pretty please. My favorite time is about 3 A.M.
10. Flowers. Tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, magnolia blossoms, dogwood flowers. I can’t get enough. Now if I can only get the puppy to stay the hell away from the pretty colored things sticking out of the ground.
We get the teeny-tiny sugar ants. I’ll take them over the big carpenter ants any day. Oh, and I’ve been the victim of ants-in-the-honey at your place. I was only mildly freaked out; I’m tougher than I thought.
I have to claim Yahoo status every once in a while. I LOVE to open my car windows and turn the volume up almost as far as it will go. Of course, I’m doing this immature behavior on the street, in full daylight, and without my children in the car - don’t want to deafen the poor things.
Hey - instead of helping me clean out my linen closet, wanna help me plant things in our yard?
You ARE tougher - it horrified ME!
I’m a yahoo with loud music fairly regularly as well. The obnoxious yahoos I refer to are the ones with not only the music but the bass turned all the fuck up, on country roads in the dark of the night. I suspect these morons compensate for some shortcomings this way.
Sure, I’ll get grubby with you!
What do you want to plant?
I inherited some hostas from the dirt pile that was left in my yard after the construction last year, and they’re not in a happy place (it’s too sunny where they are now). I also want to buy some evergreens to plant at the end of the yard to shield us from the road in the winter, and to plant as many lilies and irises and ivy and any other thing that will just flipping take over as I possibly can.
I would be happy to help. There are some state plant sales happening at the middle of next month where all sorts of lovely things can be had very reasonably. Otherwise, I have a bulb planter and it my services are yours. Chocolate is my only fee.
I think I’m going to try green thumbing it this year - I’ve never had the time before. After May 11, though, I’ve got all sorts of time. I’ve decided to take the summer off and spend time with Booger. I’ll start job hunting after school starts. I would regret it later, not taking the time. Especially since I’m getting paid to do so!
OOH, Snob, what are you going to plant?? Should you have any need for unsolicited advice, just make the smallest of responses and I will blab until you e-glare. You know, ~GLARE~
I find green thumbing highly satisfying and in the case of perennials, gorgeous in a constant way. The avatar I use shows my fave garden delight thus far, although I suspect this coming year will knock all others off the podium.