While I've been deep in website updates and general mole-whacking, meteorological spring arrived. Though much of the northern hemisphere is still in the throes of winter, here in southern Louisiana things begin stirring around mid-February, and our last frost date is usually in March*. Generally, this is the time of year when my writing takes a back seat for a few weeks, because just as our spring comes early, it leaves early too. By May, when everyone else is just warming up properly, Louisiana is brushing elbows with sweltering, and planting tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash is almost tantamount to a death sentence. Early spring is warm but not hot, and definitely easy on the eyes. This is when I try and get most of the spring veggie crop planted, and also when I try to get some traction on larger outdoor projects like building flower beds, building/mending fences, improving drainage, etc. Two weeks ago I planted potatoes and onion sets, and Monday I put the zucchini seedlings out. Tomorrow I'll sow corn, and (hopefully, depending on how much rain we get) next week I'll put out tomato and cucumber seedlings.
The trees are also waking up. A couple of weeks ago it was the sweet gums, and yesterday I noticed the cypress trees have broken dormancy. The fields are covered with butter weed and hairy buttercup. (Bonus points if you can guess the color). The first daffodils have begun to bloom. Stories and poems will have to (mostly) wait, for now.
I have digging to do.
*Mother Nature has been known to pop in with an April freeze now and again.