Monday, May 8, 2017

Spring Has Sprung...

the grass has riz,
I wonder where
the flowers is.

A direct quote from my Dad, who was known to recite that little ditty every spring, for the amusement of his progeny, while taking on the stance of a great orator.  Dad was funny.

I much prefer spring in the country to spring in the city, but even here the wonder of the change in seasons makes itself known.

My building has a communal deck attached to the back.  There is a table and a few chairs there and even though it overlooks the parking lot, it is still a nice place to sit on a sunny spring day, coffee cup and book in hand, for an afternoon of sunshine and mystery novel.

There is a bar located next door to my building, just across the alley, and another behind my building.  It is possible to near snippets of conversation as patrons walk from one to the other.

"Come on.  I'll buy you a drink."
"No, no, no.  But I will take the money."

"I'm going to have one for the road."
"OK.  And I will have one for the gutter."

"There's a reason you can't start that car."
"What's the reason."
"Because it's not your car,"
"Oh."

The downtown area where I live has old fashioned looking street lights.  Every spring the city hangs baskets of brightly colored petunias from hooks on the lamp poles.  There are also large flower boxes on every corner that are filled with more colorful petunias.  I expect to look out my window and see the flowers within a week or so, for Mother's Day is usually when they arrive, turning a drab city street cheerful and pretty.

Whenever my windows are open I can hear the chitter chatter of sparrows and chickadees coming from the tree in front of my building.  Last spring a pair of sparrows built a nest in the small tree outside my living room window.  While the Mama bird sat on her eggs, the male was busy chasing away any and all threats to the nest.  I watched him go after birds several times his size.  The pair hatched out at least four babies and between two and three weeks later, the young birds were out on their own and the parents began a second family.   The nest was partially hidden from view, but I caught glimpses of the babies now and then.  I am easily amused.

Every spring the sky is filled with honking Canadian geese.  Minnesota is the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but I bet there are more if you include all the smaller ponds.  The geese have been nesting here for generations.  It is not unusual to have to stop your car and wait for mama goose to lead her gaggle of young across the road.  Every summer there is at least one golf course that tries to remove the geese from their pristine fairways.  And each attempt results in failure.  The geese were there first and they will remain, no matter what.

I like fall best of all because of the color, but spring runs a close second.  It means that the long winter is over and there is hope for summer breezes and sunshine.  In February we in the north wonder if we will ever see green grass and leaves again.  We do...thanks to spring.

10 comments:

  1. I once held up two lanes of traffic helping a mother duck and her three ducklings cross a road. Some of us might be to blame for helping the geese and ducks stick around.

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    1. Maybe so, BW...but considering that ducks and geese have been going to the same places each year to nest and raise their young and have been doing so for probably centuries, it seems to me they have more rights to the land and water than we do.

      I think we need more folks willing to stop and help ducks and geese herd their youngsters safely across a road than we need those who try to remove them.

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  2. I remember reading your dad's poem being recited by Jughead in an Archie comic book in the 60's. Sorta makes you wonder where and how it came to be.

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    1. Gorges...I don't think Dad was into comic books, but you never know. He laughed out loud at the Pepe Le Pew cartoons on Saturday mornings, so maybe comics aren't such a stretch. :)

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  3. I agree with you, Vicki. Fall is my favorite as well, due to the "nesting syndrome" that affects me at that time of the year. However, it can get a bit overwhelming trying to get all the garden produce canned, dehydrated, and frozen. Today was gorgeous so I cut about 5 lbs. of fresh asparagus and put it in the dehydrater. Tomorrow, I will do the same with rhubarb (after I make a pan of rhubarb crisp). The windows are open, and I'll sleep well tonight. Wishing you the same...CW from Iowa

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    1. Thanks, CW...It is so nice to have the windows open again. I am so jealous that you have asparagus! I may have to ask Son to do a Farmer's Market run to get me some. I have never dehydrated it - just canned or froze it. Please let me now how the drying works out. And the thought of rhubarb crisp has me in need of a drool bib! My mother used to freeze a lot of rhubarb as well as canning it in a heavy syrup for rhubarb sauce. I canned some strawberry-rhubarb sauce last year that was excellent.

      Fall is a busy time for me, too. So much of the produce I get from the Farmer's Market is ready then. But the crisp, cool days and the glorious fall colors make up for the business of the season.

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  4. I love watching the birds chasing everything away. I have about a dozen very large oaks and hickories on my lot and smaller trees, like wisteria. I will hear all the birds in one part of the yard, screeching and yelling. I go out and see a cat in the shrubs. I chase it away. After a while, the birds stop screaming at me because they seem to know I get rid of cats by shooing them away.

    I love the flowers of spring and summer. Fall holds no interest for me. The cooler breezes are nice in the fall.

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    1. Linda...The birds are fun to watch. There is a small ledge that runs across the front of my building, just under my living room windows. Sometimes the smaller birds will gather there. It sounds like a bunch of gossiping old ladies or if they decide to sing, I am serenaded by a birdie choir!

      I love the flowers, too, but the fall leaves here are just beautiful.

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  5. I bet there are some interesting conversations from that bar!

    I love it when the town puts out flowers too, and petunias are a favourite of mine. Enjoy the Spring that is finally here!

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    1. Jenn...The two bars here are just the small neighborhood types. Aside from a little whooping and hollering on Sat. night, they are pretty quiet. But yes, there are some interesting conversations that are made funny with the consumption of alcohol. The funniest thing I saw was one winter night when a bar patron spent 15 minutes meticulously removing the snow from a vehicle, only to discover it was someone else's car. He gave up at that point and walked home. :)

      I love the flowers. They make even the city streets cheerful.

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