Spring Is
3
04, 2024
1
04, 2024
April Fools’ Day
Today is officially the day when pranks and pranksters abound. Be alert!
An April fool is the victim of a joke or trick played on April 1st hence the name April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day.
A little aside here, finding a grammatically correct meme wasn’t easy. The day is April Fools’ Day. There are multiple fools in the world. This is their holiday hence the s apostrophe.
Although dictionaries show both fools’ and fool’s, the plural possessive makes the best logical sense to me.
Whichever way you spell it, playing jokes and tricking people has been around for centuries, but no one knows its origins for sure.
My favorite theory is April Fools’ Day is of French origin and dates to 1582 when the Council of Trent required the French to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
Those who embraced the new calendar started to mock the reluctant ones, offering false presents, and playing tricks on them. Those tricked or fooled are called April fools or Poisson d’avril (April Fish).
Eventually, the fish name-calling tradition evolved into the exchange of fish-shaped cakes and then paper fish associated with jokes and hoaxes.
School-aged children in France design paper fish to stick on the backs of unsuspecting people.
Much like children in the US create kick me signs.
April Fools’ Day is a popular, widespread day but not an official public holiday in any of the 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.
Smiles and laughs are important for a balanced life, don’t you think?
29
03, 2024
Easter and the Paschal Triduum
For the Christian world, Maundy Thursday ushered in the Paschal Triduum, the three days ending with Lent and leading to Resurrection Sunday (Easter).
The term may be familiar to Protestant denominations like Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed as well as Anglican churches that observe Lent.
Other denominations may or may not be familiar with the term.
In our Methodist Church, the Triduum is called “the Great Three Days,” and on each day except Saturday, there are church services.
Maundy Thursday services remind us of Jesus’ command (to love one another) as He washed His disciples’ feet and shared The Last Supper with them. This service concludes with the Stripping of the Altar as the church readies itself for Good Friday.
Good Friday services can include a Fish Fry after the meal, the congregation gathers in a “bare” church setting to reflect on Christ’s Passion and His time on the Cross with songs, readings, and prayer. Church members leave in silence preparing to return on Easter morning in anticipation and celebration of His resurrection.
Holy Saturday or Black Saturday is a day for silence, fasting, and quiet contemplation focusing on personal spiritual journeys while remembering Jesus’ crucifixion. Holy Saturday falls as the Jewish Sabbath before Jesus’ Resurrection for those of Jewish faith.
Roman Catholics have celebrated the Paschal/Easter Triduum as a formal separate season since 1955. Many Catholic churches hold an Easter Vigil through Saturday night.
This season leading to Resurrection Sunday is the holiest time of the year for Christians. Participation in Paschal Triduum activities can enhance the season but is not required.
The important thing is having a thankful heart for what Easter represents. Without what He did on the cross, we would be forever lost.
May you have a most Blessed Easter.
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03, 2024
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03, 2024
A Reminder: Back Up Your World on March 31, World Backup Day
We’ve heard news stories of data breaches at corporations.
Too many of us have had at least one notice of our secure data being captured by the ever-increasing threat of ransomware and viruses.
Yet, most of us haven’t ever heard of World Backup Day unless we’ve worked in a tech field.
Way back when computers were first entering the world of education, I taught computer literacy.No, not computer science. I’m not a techie. I have no formal computer science training.
I taught seventh and eighth-grade students word processing, databases, spreadsheets, and basic programming. That gave me a healthy appreciation for backups and protecting data.
In the early onset of computing, we used external discs for storage, and I promise there is nothing sadder in the world than a twelve or fourteen-year-old whose disk went missing or became corrupt and all their work lost.
To this day, I have backups of backups following the 3-2-1 rule.
- Three copies of everything
- Stored on two different pieces of media,
- One of which is off-site and immutable.
I back up daily. All my published books have a zip drive along with at least one hard copy. Personal files are saved to an external drive. I use multiple cloud storage services, zip drive USBs, and print critical files.
Like I said, I believe in backing up and not just one day a year.
Do you back up your data?
We can’t be responsible for corporations or other places where our data resides, but personal computer data is our responsibility.
That’s why I’m sharing this infographic about World Backup Day from the University of Washington.
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03, 2024
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03, 2024
Wearing of the Green
On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish for a day. I count myself Irish for the other 364 days too.
My Irish heritage can be traced through both my mother and father’s parents. Mama Callahan Smith, my daddy’s grandmother, and my mother’s mother Oma Johnson Ulit. Both families’ heritage can be traced to the Emerald Isle.
I still remember the first time I felt my Irish genes. I’d tagged along on my husband’s business trip not thinking about the family stories of Irish heritage.
When I looked out the airplane’s window as we descended for landing, my blood truly began to tingle, and my heart sang at the site of the green fields below. I dipped my hand in the River Shannon and knew I’d found home.
After ten trips, those roots solidified and my love of all things Irish grew deep.
It’s why you’re likely to find characters with an Irish background in my books. There’s even an entire book set in Ireland, Claiming Annie’s Heart.
Something else happened when I went to Ireland – a very native-sounding brogue surfaced. It filtered into my writing so much that my copy editors must correct syntax when proofing my books for publication.
I wore my green yesterday and celebrated Ireland’s patron saint, Patrick, who, as you may know, wasn’t even Irish but English. Still, he’s credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland … and if you believe the Irish folklore, chased all the snakes away.
I hope your St. Patrick’s Day included a wee bit of green too. After all, 38,597,428 people claimed they were Irish alone or in any combination during the 2020 Census. That’s 16.4% of the overall population.
Happy Day After St. Patrick’s Day!
15
03, 2024
Forest of Figs
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
Beekeeper Brian loves figs. His grandmother made fig preserves and I have been able to replicate the recipe. I’ve also found a recipe for a fresh fig cake that we both love.
Many people who have fig trees do not like figs. This has been to our benefit as we have picked many figs off other people’s trees. Alas, those trees have died, or the people have moved on, so we are left to produce our supply.
This is not easy. We have tried multiple times to plant a fig tree in our yard, but the scorching summers are too much for it.
This year Brian has a renewed determination. He has researched different varieties and has six pots with a couple of different varieties of fig trees growing in them.
They made it through the winter, and we are hopeful to be able to plant them in the ground at some point this year.
Three will go to the community garden that our church has nearby. The others will stay on Miller Farm.
Brian recently visited his father 2 hours south of here and brought back a different variety of fig tree. 
He has put the cuttings in water and sealed off the tops hoping that they will root.
There are seven potential trees. If they all grow into trees, we will have our own fig forest.
I may be looking for more fig recipes!
13
03, 2024
Mother Goose Daffodil Rhyme
I do love the fun of Mother Goose rhymes, especially this one.
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.
11
03, 2024
The Sayings of March
March always brings two sayings to mind. The origins and meanings of both fascinate me. 
The first is “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb.”
Old Man Winter doesn’t want to turn loose which is why March is said to come in like a lion—roaring with snow, ice, blustery winds, and cold temperatures—and end on a gentle, spring note.
While the adage most likely refers to the weather, other sources trace its origins to the stars. In the night sky, you can see two constellations on the western horizon – Leo the Lion and Aries the Ram (or lamb).
Leo rises in early March, coming in “like a lion.” By the end of the month, Leo is overhead, while Aries is setting on the western horizon. Hence, the month goes out like a lamb.
Another theory claims the saying is biblical and the animal references are symbolic. The problem is that conjecture is theologically inaccurate. Jesus came to earth as a lamb and will return as the Lion of Judah, backward from the myth.
Around here, our March arrived with temperatures soaring to the eighties and high winds! No snow, no cold. Kinda contradicts the saying.
Perhaps the best solution for what the saying means is to take it at face value. March may start with fierce weather, but it’s always a clear signal spring is coming.
Next, “Beware of the Ides of March.”
I first heard the saying while studying William Shakespeare‘s Julius Caesar in high school. You’re probably familiar with the soothsayer’s warning too.
Not only did Shakespeare’s words stick, but the date, March 15 became branded with a dark and gloomy connotation.
But the origin of the phrase was not sinister. March 15 was a normal day in the Roman calendar meaning halfway through the month and coincided with the rise of the full moon.
Ides comes from the old Latin verb iduare, which meant “to divide.” Every month has an Ides. In March, May, July, and October ides fell on the 15th, and in the other months, it came on the 13th.
During Roman times, the March ides was the deadline for settling debts. So perhaps, some Romans did consider the date ominous even before Shakespeare dramatized the 44 B.C. assassination of Julius Caesar.
Unfortunately, the soothsayer’s warning in Shakespeare’s play forever linked the date with bad luck.
Check out these things associated with March 15:
- Smithsonian list of historical events that have occurred on March 15.
- The UK’s Independent’s five worst events that have happened on March 15
Terrible things can happen any day. So can good things:
11 Wonderful Things That Have Happened on the Ides of March
If I should receive any warnings about the Ides of March, I’m going to side with caution. I don’t want a day like the one Julius Caesar had.