Spring

I am forced - quite happily, by the way - to admit that Spring has finally arrived. The first clue was the appearance of newly hatched rubber duckies in my house. They’ve been cheery company and like sunbathing. Soon, it’ll be time to introduce them to the rest of the flock.

The second sign was that the leaves have started returning to my plants. I’m especially pleased that all of the Japanese Maples survived the winter. When I got them, they were wee little saplings from my parents’ tree. Now they’re almost 2’ tall and a beautiful red. I wonder how tall they’ll be next year.

Those 2 signals aside, the most conclusive sign of Spring is all the pollen. Everything has a yellow tint. The Maples already have a good covering and so does my fluffy, black cat. Sometimes, he looks more like a giant bumblebee than the fluff ball he is. Other times, he’s wearing yellow “socks”. It’s definitely bath time* for Shadow.

Of course, Spring also brings rain, hail, and tornados. At the moment, I’m hunkered down on the couch with the Bearded One and a cat waiting for all three to pass overhead. It’s been uneventful so far and, hopefully, it’ll stay that way. Maybe Sunday will be sunny.

*He is definitely getting a “bath” by which I mean getting wiped down with a damp towel. He gets cleaned up and I get to keep my fingers. It’s a win-win.