ST. PATRICK'S DAY MUSINGS

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time – a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."-- Adrienne Cook



Another St. Patrick's Day! I've made it through another winter....just barely....although I must admit that this one hasn't been nearly as depressing as some in the past. That's probably because of the diversion the winter gathering of friends and family brought the end of January. A bright spot in the gloom.

This St. Patrick's day is not as gloriously beautiful as some in the past have been.....2006, in particular. That was a gorgeous day! Sunny, very spring-like, yellow forsythias blooming profusely. Not much sunshine today. A bit chilly. The forsythias are shy this year. Just a hint of yellow here and there.

It's time to start whipping the yard into shape. Don made a stab at it by bagging a couple of big bags of leaves. I need to tidy up the flower beds and prune the Altheas. They bloom on new growth, you know, and pruning encourages them to send out new shoots. I'm looking forward to working outside again, in one way: fresh air, more communion with the earth and garden plants, the diversion of birds, squirrels and insect life. On the other hand, there are so many reasons that I don't enjoy working in the yard: ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes, for three. I also know that it's going to mess up my breathing; leaf dust is a killer! And the old Sciatic nerve always kicks in when I rake and sweep too much. Sciatica can, and has, sent me to bed for a week. I'll have to pace myself.

I wonder if the black snake will be back this year? I didn't see it last year. It's a big one.....5 feet long, I would guess. Black snakes are harmless, but they have a rattle on the end of their tails like a poisonous rattler does. That can scare the bejabbers out of you until you ascertain that it's only the black snake two steps away from your feet, not a rattler, and that death is not imminent after all. I hope it's still out there somewhere so I can get Don to take a photo of me holding it. That would be sooooooo cool!

I didn't see as many blue-tailed lizards last summer. Miss Priss was then a stray and lived outside last year. She was the cause of the demise of many of them. Now that she's an official member of the family, she's an inside kitty, so maybe the lizards will have a chance. I love to see them sunning on the stone wall next to the porch stairs. One of them was a fat guy. I named him Big Al.

I saw a hummingbird feeder hanging from a porch yesterday. It's a bit early for that. Hummers traditionally drift into town around the first few days in April. I hang 8 feeders for them. It's quite a job to keep them filled and keep the ants and wasps away from them. It's time to pull the feeders out of the cabinet underneath the sink to decide if I can use all of them from last year, or if I need to buy a few new ones. It becomes quite a responsibility if you hang feeders. The hummers depend on you to keep them filled and mildew-free. Don't start that job if you are a slacker. It's a job well worth the time and trouble. Hummers are very entertaining. Quite the clowns. Very territorial, and they treat me to many a fierce avian sword fight as I sit on the porch swing in the afternoons. You'd think that with 8 hummingbird feeders in the yard, there would be enough for everybody, but that's not the way they all think. Invariably, we have one or two who think only of themselves, claim all the feeders for their own, and chase off the others. I know people like that, don't you?