Bring It On

My loins are girded and, after coming through everything that got thrown my way yesterday, I'm ready to meet today's challenges.  I will admit that I approached the computer with caution, but so far, so good.  Nature threw everything but the kitchen sink at us yesterday, and with great intensity.  It was like moving through the seasons in fast forward...snow, rain, hail, wind, sunshine...rewind and repeat.  Not just a few flakes, or a light drizzle either.  Wind blew branches out of the trees.  Hail coated the ground.  Rain could have drowned a frog.  That saying, "If you don't like this weather, wait five minutes," was certainly true yesterday.  Fortunately, Nature was taking a breather at dusk when I went to put the kids to bed.  It was bloody cold and my pants got wet to the knee while slogging through high grass, but it wasn't raining.  Had I not been hurrying, I would have taken a photo of the Silkies.  Their fluffy topknots were damp and sticking up in spikes that would have made a punk rock star jealous.

I talked with Joel and Judy, Joel starting the conversation reciting his telephone prefix from years ago (as Kathryn did in her comment yesterday).  Funny how those things stay with us.  We commiserated about what the freeze would do to our gardens and the grape vines.  It wouldn't be the first year I've had to replant.  There's not much to be done for the emerging grape leaves, and that could be devastating for the growers.  Some farmers swear by the almanac, planting by the phases of the moon.  Up here, we need to pay more attention to the dogwood trees...they never lie.