The Need For Green

Another snow-melting day, which is quite nice. I think the forecast last night mentioned snow flirting in the area today, but the sun has been shining most of the day.

Hubby and I took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Chillicothe today. A look at our “needed supplies” list said we really should go now and not wait for another week to go by. It was a good shopping trip, I found a lot of bargains........and by bargains, I mean that I found a lot of items that were bundled into a pack of two items for much less than buying two individually packaged items. That's always a good thing.

I did have to buy some plastic storage canisters for the kitchen today. This wasn't something I'd planned on, but a couple of weeks ago the plastic lid of my current sugar canister cracked when I opened it. I can't remember how long I've had the current set, which means it probably was time to replace it. The new ones are washed, so as soon as they're dry I can put them in service. I saw some other sets in the store that were stoneware or metal. They looked really sharp – but when I compared prices, there was no question what I would take home.

We splurged on lunch at Dairy Queen. Not only was the lunch yummy, but we ran into one of my cousins, her hubby and her mom on their weekly shopping trip. It's always fun to unexpectedly run into people you know. Now that we've been home a couple of hours and everything's put away, I noticed we're both making strange noises when we get up or sit down. Oh, the joys of getting older!

We were noticing the landscape on our drive to Chillicothe this morning. And we realized we are coming to that point where we are both ready for winter to be over. And since it's now March, I'm right on schedule. I enjoy the different seasons. Fall is always fun as we watch the harvest in progress, and then the sight of the clean fields and rediscovering how far we can see once the crops have been harvested.

Even early on in winter, we enjoy looking at the rolling hills and the shapes of the bare trees. It seems like every year we find some house or barn we haven't noticed before as we drive up and down the highways. Then comes March. And my usual comment is, “I'm so tired of brown! I need to see something green.”

I've done well this winter with the landscape – the weather, not so much. I've complained plenty about the weather. But I've been okay with the landscape. Until today. The brown was just too much. The barn lots, with the snow melting, are mud pits. The cattle and horses alike were covered with mud much of the way up their legs. I don't know if they were miserable or not, but they certainly looked miserable. I thought it was interesting that hubby and I hit that point at the same time.

But, spring is getting closer. Today is Ash Wednesday, Daylight Savings Time springs forward this weekend. We're only 12 days away from St. Patrick's Day. So the spring colors are starting to unfurl, at least on the TV ads! You know, a lot of older gardeners swear by planting potatoes on St. Patrick's Day. I know my aunt and uncle do – not that they plant a garden any longer, but I know they used to do their potatoes on St. Patrick's Day.

When I was in first grade, we had quite a snowstorm on St. Patrick's Day. We shoveled and shoveled. School was closed for a day or two, maybe longer. Snow piles along our road were higher than my head. I doubt they got their potatoes planted that year! But then, maybe they didn't have the harvest they usually did.

I'm glad St. Patrick's Day is getting closer – even if the weather doesn't cooperate, I'll be able to see some green that day!