I do love the fun of Mother Goose rhymes. Every Spring when a field of daffodils sprang up behind our house in West Virginia, I envisioned daffodil ladies dancing about. Not so many daffodil fields in Texas, but I still think of this illustration whenever I see a daffodil.
Spring brings out my lackadaisicalness. I’m not lazy, but something about a warm spring day has me doing a lot of piddlin’ around and not staying on task.
I find myself staring into space or watching a cardinal bathe in our water fountain instead of attending to what needs to be done. Or, I’ll wander outside randomly pulling weeds and hours will pass.
Last night I pulled an invasive weed from one of the boxwoods at the back of the yard. Not a bad thing, in fact something that needed to be done, but that led to trimming the Brunfelsia, better known as yesterday, today and tomorrow plant.
SOURCE: B.navez – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org
The shrub lives on the neighbor’s side of the fence, but hangs over into our yard. The blooms start out purple, fade to lavender, and finally turn white over days. Hence the name yesterday, today, and tomorrow. A plant can have all three at once, which makes it lovely to look at.
Unfortunately all parts of the plant (flowers, leaves, berries, and seeds) are considered toxic to animals.
If one of my four legged boys were to eat a seedpod or branch, they could die. That’s why I trim it to the neighbor’s side of the fence.
Again, my piddlin’ led to a very necessary thing, but not what I was supposed to be doing. I should have been inside fixin’ supper.
Who wants to eat when you can enjoy the outdoors? Too soon it will hot and humid and we’ll be huddling inside in the air conditioning. You have to piddle and take the spring days while you can.
I tried to explain this to my hubby and doggies. They weren’t particularly sympathetic.
In our quest to reduce the number of chickens we have, we sold the Welsummer flock (one rooster and four hens) to some friends who are starting over with chickens after building a more secure coop.
That left an empty space which I decided was perfect for the ducks. I moved the “pond” into the new locations and Rachel helped me corral the ducks.
Before I could even close the gate, they had escaped through a loose spot in the fence. They were getting along fine with the chickens so it was not a big problem. I simply wanted to separate them so they would only make a mess of their own waterer.
I secured the fence and decided to wait until dark to capture the ducks and put them in their new home. I learned that ducks do not roost at night like chickens do. I ran around in the dark chasing ducks until I remembered the turkey incident — I fractured my ankle when I stepped into a hole in the chicken yard while chasing a turkey.
I gave up and decided to try in the daylight.
After about a week, I was able to coax Lucy and Ricky into their new home. I filled the “pond” with fresh water and they immediately splashed in.
Everybody is happy – especially me. I like everything to have its own home – including the animals.
Around here, birds are chirping and squirrels are scampering. Trees are budding and the pines are raining green pollen. Spring is indeed at work with joyful enthusiasm in our neck of the woods.
So is the yearning to dig in the dirt. Spring Fever, once again, at war with the task of getting words on the page, and I think it’s winning.
Today is officially April Fools’ Day, the day when pranks and pranksters abound.
Playing jokes and tricking people, celebrated in many different cultures, has been around for centuries, but no one knows its origins for sure.
My favorite theory is April Fool’s Day is of French origin and dates back to 1582 when the Council of Trent required the French to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
King Charles IX declared New Year’s Day to be April 1 which meant the traditional Boxing Day gift exchange on the first day of the New Year was moved to the new date in April.
Many honored the new date and presented their family and friends with gifts, mainly fish because April 1 falls within Lent, the 40-day period when meat consumption is forbidden.
Those who embraced the new calendar started to mock the reluctant ones, offering false presents and playing tricks on them. Those who are tricked or fooled are called April Fools or Poisson d’avril (April Fish).
Eventually the real fish tradition evolved into the exchange of fish-shaped cakes then paper fish associated with jokes and hoaxes.
School-aged children in France design paper fish to stick on the back of some unsuspecting person. Much like children in the US kick me signs.
April Fools’ Day is a popular, widespread day but not an official public holiday in any of the many countries where it’s recognized. No one seems to want to grant formal recognition to a day that allows attaching paper fish or playing pranks on unsuspecting folks.
Wherever April Fools’ Day originated, it’s a perfect day to enjoy some laughter with family, friends, and coworkers. A few smiles and laughs are important for a balanced life, don’t you think?
Bill went to San Antonio last week and brought me back a round, plush frog. My first thought, naturally, was a song “Frog in The Middle.”
I considered using it in my music class. However, I found a better use. Since Brian has two travel buddies in his car, perhaps I need two in mine.
So now I have a fat, friendly frog on one side
and a happy eggplant on the other.
That gives me a reason to smile in both directions!
With state testing at the school on the horizon, I need as much help smiling as I can get.
Our calendars may say spring, but for many the view says winter. If that’s your view, take heart in Emerson’s words and be patience. Spring will come.
I’m on a Swim Team. A very small swim team.
Three of us gather Monday through Friday at the local indoor pool. I don’t know all their names. We rarely speak. Yet we’re a dedicated team. You have to be leave to your house early enough to be in the water at 5:30 am.
Two of us arrive at about the same time usually between 5 – 5:15 a.m. We stand at the door silently. I’m not sure either of us is fully awake. The minute the door is unlocked, we grab our allotted two towels and head to the pool at the back of the building.
Power-swimmer heads directly to the pool. She’s in the water by the time I’ve stripped to my swimsuit under my sweats and stuffed my belongings in a locker.
She swims non-stop. Breaststroke, backstroke, and underwater. Flippers on, flipper off. Without a break. I’m in awe of her stamina.
Basically, I’m not a swimmer. Though several different state Red Cross swim instructors have certified me drown proof. Of course, that probably has more to do with my BMI enabling me to float forever than skills.
While Power-swimmer has her strenuous workout, I walk and doggy paddle in my lane then do chin-ups on the therapy pool equipment and a series of exercises with water weights.
Team member #3 arrives shortly after we’re in the water. I know her name-Char. She walks like I do and our paths cross. Talking’s allowed. Char also swims so once she starts the laps it’s all business. No chit-chat.
Other swimmers join us from day to day. Mostly lap swimmers. Not as intense as our Power member and none swim for as long as the team does.
One day a head popped up in the lane between Power Swimmer and me. I had not seen him come in or enter the water. Scared me that I was so unobservant then Char said the guy swims totally underwater. Since my cardinal pool rule is never to get my face wet, I won’t ever see him until he gets out of the water.
After an hour, Power-swimmer and I leave TM #3. We wave good bye as we head to the locker room.
The others aren’t on the team. They don’t follow the rules: Come every day. Swim an hour. And rules are rules, you know. They’re welcome to join. But that means I’d have to tell my other team members about the team and the rules.
My husband and I both drive Honda Fits. Mine is white, his is yellow. It was not an intentional thing. We just like Honda Fits.
Rachel and Brian both commute an hour each way to a nearby town for school and work. For a short time their schedules worked out so they could ride together.
The next semester, when Rachel had to drive herself, she found a stuffed bee to be a travel buddy for her dad. It fit perfectly in the side front window.
Then she found a stuffed dachshund that she couldn’t resist. So now Brian has two buddies to keep him company:
I travel several blocks to work each day. In fact, I could probably walk if I didn’t have to drop Bill off at school.
Even though I spend much less time in my car, I still felt lonely without a travel buddy. My front window was very empty.
Recently I found a stuffed eggplant in the back of Rachel’s car. I loved it but, alas, it was a dog toy belonging to Rachel’s boss’s dog.
When she told her boss how much I liked the eggplant, her boss bought one for me. So now I have a happy eggplant travel buddy!
It makes me smile.
To keep the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day going…
A little suspense. A little romance. A lot of Ireland.
Buy links:
Amazon/Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O6BO
B&N/Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/claiming-annies-heart-judythe-morgan/1120481337
iBOOKS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/claiming-annies-heart/id926024696
KOBO: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/claiming-annie-s-heart
