There’s a saying among country folks about surviving hard times. During a winter like the one we just had, we tell ourselves it will be ok if we can just hang on until green grass. When someone who struggles with health issues dies during the bitter months, we shake our heads and mourn that they didn’t make it till green grass. The grass was a long time coming this spring and we feared another drought year was on the horizon, but timely rains have relieved those worries for now.
I was sure that many of the fruit trees wouldn’t survive winter but most have, and are loaded with more blossoms than I ever recall seeing. Our apple tree and flowering crab are so full that you can’t even see the branches. We seldom get chokecherries from our bushes because birds find them first. This year, we may be able to make jelly; even the birds should get their fill and leave us some. Mowing the yard has been scented heaven.
Every blessing seems to have a counterpart, and this year ticks are as plentiful as blossoms. We always have lots of them, but this is ridiculous. The pests came on before snow was gone, and we got our dogs medicated early. The ticks usually die on the dogs, and fall off, but now and then we have a tick check and find one or two. Sadly, we didn’t get medicated and every trip outdoors brings a new infestation. After mowing yesterday, I found seven of the darn things on me within twenty minutes, and decided the only solution was to shower and wash my hair. That helped, but when I went out to sweep the deck, two more found me within 5 minutes and I hadn’t even walked in the grass. I’ve learned to shake out clothes after drying them on the line. In the fall, they sometimes harbor wasps, but now it’s ticks.
I never saw a tick for the first fifty years of my life, but the mule deer we used to have so many of have decreased as white tails moved in. I don’t know what the scientists say, but most of us think the ticks came in with white tails.
We have bird feeders in the yard, and lately we’ve noticed varieties we don’t usually see. I hope they stay around. So do the cats.
Have you been hanging out indoors and playing with your devices? Put them down. Go out and visit Ma Nature. She has an abundance of blessings to share. Be grateful that you’ve made it to green grass, even if there are dandelions in it. And by the way, who decreed that such sunny reminders of spring should be labeled as weeds? According to the sources that shape our society, diversity is desirable. Pick a bouquet of sunshine for your best girl, your granny, or just to decorate the kitchen windowsill.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile, do your best. Somebody might like it.