Living Under the Son Light
• Feb. 18, 2008 - Spring in MY South
I don't know why, but this year I notice it. Maybe I've never paid attention before. Spring is a process. We don't go from Winter one day to Spring the next. Winter is taking its own sweet time leaving, much like the Snow Birds that grace our shore every year.
It reminds me a lot of taking a 3 or 4 year old little boy to the Toy department at Wally World. And I didn't take him there because I wanted to. His oldest brother had money to spend you see, and it had to be spent THAT day. He couldn't wait. So we all went. And it didn't matter how well I tried to explain to the Little Man that he was only there to look. He had no money to spend. He could NOT buy a toy that day. When it was time to leave the toy department there was great shedding of tears, and dragging of heels, and a bottom lip out to China. "But I don't want to go." "Can't I look for just one more minute??"
That's Winter not wanting to leave.
Spring coming is rather like my beautiful 14 year old young woman not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. She looks so peaceful sleeping there, but there are things to do, the day must start. She must get in gear.
This year has been one of "winter's over, that's it, I'm sure, that was THE last cold snap, yep, um hum. We can finish off the hot cocoa mix cause we won't need any more. And I don't need to buy any more oatmeal cause we won't have any more of those cold mornings." Until 5 days later... looking at the forecast... what's that?? Morning lows in the 30's? Misprint, must be... brrrrr. Better go buy more hot cocoa mix. But it's o.k. because Spring will be here soon enough, and she won't get to stay long because Summer is a pushy Thang that barges in and takes over for months and months.
I was trying to explain to a friend who moved her from Florida (aka New York South), that here, each month brings it's own bug or other thing to annoy. But you get used to it, to the rhythm:
January: cold, brrr.
February: here come the Sand Gnats, back from wherever it is they spend their Winter. Oh yes, and don't forget to wash your windshield every other day to get off all that lovely yellow pollen - ah choo!
March: mosquitos are back, better fire up the Mosquito Magnet.
April: deer flies (wear your fishing hat when you go out to get the mail or you'll get bit up.)
May: The Love Bugs are back, all over your windshield; harmless but messy (and try to come up with a good answer for the littlest children when they ask "Mommy, why are those bugs stuck together?")
June: hhhmm, same old mosquitoes still here, but the Love Bugs have vanished.
July: yes, it's hot, hot, hot and we're checking the Wunderground site daily for tropical activity, but the deer flies have left because they can't take the heat!
August: hotter still, and we're still praying for a quiet hurricane season. But by the end of the month, those deer flies have returned - can't let the kids play outside much.
September: awww, look, the Love Bugs are back. splat. Well, washing the windshield now takes care of the pine pollen AND the bugs.
October: bye bye Love Bugs, hello House Flies. Get out the swatters, and put up the chart where we keep track of who kills how many flies - winner gets bragging rights for a year!
November: hey, have you noticed, there aren't many Sand Gnats now, and the deer flies are GONE!
December: gotta admire the persistence of those skeeters - pray for a really good cold snap to kill them off. Oh, and you can go ahead and clean out the mosquito magnet and give it a rest for a month, or two.
...Back on track:
What is Spring in MY South?
* The smell of honeysuckle in the air.
* pants and long sleeves in the morning, shorts and short sleeves after lunch.
* explaining to your students that Live Oaks really are evergreen trees, just like pine trees, because they don't shed their leaves until the Spring, when they pop out their blossoms (and pollen), so that's why we rake in the Spring and not the Fall. And the exact perfect time to clean the roof is in April, when the leaves have all fallen, and it's not so hot that you burn you feet and hands climbing up on the roof with your leaf blower.
* the first trip of the year to the beach, before the Spring Breakers arrive.
* azaleas in gorgeous bloom - no shade of pink on earth like that...
* unfortunately, the first Fire Ant sting of the year (poor Little Man.)
* open those windows - we need to air out this house.
* the birds are back building their nest in the garage - sure hope they can outsmart the cats again this year. Baby birds are so cute!
* the Easter egg hunt in the front yard.
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