Spring Promises

 

Yesterday's spring post was supplanted by toothy topics, but I'm coming back to it today. And I will disappoint any who are hoping for a green St. Pat theme. Let's say I'm dreaming of green (grass, stems, leaves!)

So I made myself a promise about 15 years ago. We used to have a bluebird box on a post in the back field. One day Om, a friend and I were sitting on the deck enjoying our view when we realized that there was some animal sitting on top of the bluebird box. And there was a family in the nest! I was even more distressed when I discovered that it was our own kitty-cat, the super hunter, V-8. At the end of that summer I took down the box and vowed I would not put it up again until the kitty was no longer chasing birds.

V-8 is still hanging in there, but she's almost 19 years old. She no longer even goes outside, so I am keeping that promise this spring. Last year a pair of bluebirds did nest here, in a hollow aspen trunk. But after they finished with the tree a woodpecker enlarged the hole so I knew the bluebirds wouldn't want it again. Then over the winter the tree fell down. Yesterday I hung the old bluebird box, and a second, newer one too. Now I just hope that the bluebird will be back to look for those enticing holes!

Today was quite a freak for March. As you can see, we made 60 degrees. It was a wonderful temperature, but the wind was also blowing at about 25 miles an hour. That didn't start until about 11:30 this morning.



I had already hung one load of laundry outside. Now I promise not to show you pictures of all my loads of laundry, but it's one of those special moments of the yearly cycle for me, like the first snowshoe tracks I make in winter. There is just something special about that first outside drying day. And I'm writing this in my fresh pajamas with that clean, outdoor smell clinging to them.

But you can see that the wind is pretty serious! It broke one clothesline, actually the one with all the t-shirts on it, and I had to re-hang them all on a different line. That was discovered when I went out with the second load. I retrieved the empty basket and weighted it down with the clothespin bucket. About then, Maggie decided to run off. I had to go get her- she's always been an obedient dog, and I don't like this new behavior of not coming when called. I didn't want to let her get away with straying so far. When I came back with her in tow, I was just in time to see the laundry basket take the clothespin bucket for a nice series of two-point rolls (sorry, flashback to wrestling mom days), dumping every clothespin in its wake.

OK, dog inside, retrieve the basket again, pick up the clothespins, and give up on the second load of clothes till the wind died down a little bit! In a couple of hours I was able to hang the rest of the laundry. I love how the wind whips the fabric so that it's softer than any chemical softener can achieve. Did I mention that I love the first clothes-on-the-line day of the year? Ahhhhh.



Now for some promises OF Spring. Here were the snowdrops yesterday.



Here are the snowdrops today. Pretty cool, huh? They are the first little GREEN things up in my rock garden this year. This post got pretty long, but it was full of promise.

See My Bluebird of Happiness
See Looking for Love
See Where Does an 18-Year-Old Kitty Sleep?