God's Flashlight

Amazing! We hit close to 90 degrees yesterday! Again, not really ready, as most of our summer clothes are still in the attic. Yes, the weather people predicted this, but it gets so we do not trust them very much. Besides that, we are in the 'higher elevations,' where exceptions to the predictions prevail. We coped okay - t-shirts and jeans are suitable all year and always available.

For the cold weather we cover the windows with plastic, put up heavy drapes, and arrange the furniture to prevent any winter chills. Now with the nice weather (we hope) the plastic has to come off, the drapes washed and put away to be substituted by lighter curtains, and the furniture can be placed to enjoy the lovely views of the blooming flowers and trees. So as this occurs, God's Flashlight comes out. This is an expression my husband has developed that explains the angle of the sun coming in the windows 'just so' to highlight the "floating fairies in the air" (dust) and the muted sheen of the furniture (more dust). This is why we have spring cleaning!

I feel it is a never ending battle here in the woods. The air is clean, but the pollen is plentiful. And we have cats and the ever present litter boxes. (There is no such thing as a "dust-free litter." - those marketing people need to really use the stuff - in a home - with windows open - and really, truthfully tell me their litter is "dust-free!") In addition, the winter containment harbors the dust and the removal of the adaptations just releases the result. So we try to keep everything clean, take a day or two as the official spring cleaning days, and the next bright, sunny morning - the dust is back! Never ending battle.

Fires

We have not had rain for a while, so everything is very dry. The humidity is low, which makes for beautiful blue skies, but fire danger is very high. We have a burn ban in effect (the day after my husband had his fire incident), but people being as they are, some insist a campfire or or burning trash is their right. As a result we have had some massive brush fires, some very close to our home. We respect the firefighters and what they have to go through, so when we hear the trucks from the station up the street, we are understandably concerned.

It is quiet here. We have cars go by and logging trucks and school buses, so we are used to those sounds. But when a State Trooper puts on the car siren in front of your home, you pay attention. That is what happened to me this morning, sound asleep, the siren goes off and I 'stuck the landing' before I was fully awake. I was up, on my feet, looking out the window before I knew why, what time it was, where my husband was - I was prepared and unprepared all at the same time! I figured I had a decision to make - not sure why, but I was decisive. I decided to go to the bathroom! I realized very soon what had occurred and started to laugh - some way to start a day! I found out this evening the trooper was called to a chemical spill on the Interstate - our road is a shortcut to get the next entrance.

Restaurant Time and More Adaptations

My husband has gotten a new job, working at a restaurant 6 nights per week. As a consequence, we have switched over to 'restaurant time.' Anyone who has worked at a full-service restaurant knows what I mean by that. In the real world, people work all day and relax and sleep at night. And sometimes that relaxation takes 'real people' to a restaurant to have dinner and drinks and talk. Other people have to be there to prepare, serve and clean-up after, hence 'restaurant time.'

My husband goes into work around 4 pm each day and is there until closing and final clean-up, which means most nights he does not get home until midnight - and this is the off-season yet! Once the season starts, I probably will not see him until 1 or 2 am. I understand that, as we both worked in restaurants when we first met - in fact, I got him hired as one of the cooks for the chain that we both worked for. (I got the job immediately after we met, so I had them hire him.) As a manager, I often walked out of the restaurant at 2 am and drove the 45 minutes home; I know what it is like to get home so late, so I prefer to wait up in case he is too tired to drive, or so I can see him for a little while before we go to sleep.

So we sleep in a little later now, and try to get the appointments and necessary matters done in the late morning/early afternoon. Now if Mother Nature would adjust her clock - the cats want to be fed, the birds get noisy at sunrise, deliveries arrive - we are not ready! The cute little woodpecker certainly did not get the memo - he is still trying to peck a home into our metal antenna - go Woody! (pictured below) - but metal pinging at sunrise! Naps are becoming an important aspect of our day.

One day off per week now, so we try to pack a bunch of stuff into that one day - visits, shopping expeditions, intense yard work, etc. Last week we did some shopping for yard stuff, then came home and tried to get yard work done. I thought a nice big lunch was in order, so I went inside to cook while my husband did some yard clearing and burning of the wood cleared. Next thing I see is him running back towards the faucet (you see where this going, don't you?), then running to the garage, then running to the faucet - all the while with expletives being quietly mumbled! I know he did not want me to know, and did not want me to get involved, as there is an element of embarrassment involved here. So I waited until the running and cursing stopped, walked quietly out the backdoor to 'announce lunch was ready' and feigned surprise that the brush in our back yard was blackened and, now, non-existent. No harm done, really - he contained the fire before it spread too far or progressed into the woods. Really, this will probably help the grasses and ferns that grow there, and that area is greening up already after a week. But the prospect can very be scary - fire in our woods and all.

Oh, yes, it snowed yesterday. I think this makes 7 months of snow now? Supposed to be near 80 this weekend.

Motivators and Spring Longing

Sometimes the 'Powers that Be' send along powerful motivators to get a person to do certain tasks; or to accept the concepts and feelings that are inevitable. Looking around our yard, we are motivated to clean up and start planting. (Of course, there is a 'but') - But the weather does not seem to want to make up its mind! It is snowing now - just enough to annoy my husband, I swear. It is something we should expect and accept, since we are in the Poconos, right? We had 50 mph winds this week. Silly me put out some new pinwheels and whirligigs along our fence in the front - we picked them up later that week in the woods. Guess we will wait to put them out again, or find another way to stick them in the ground.

Health issues are extremely powerful motivators. After the realization hits home, an acceptance follows. My husband is Diabetic, as are many people in the US now. Almost a fad, huh? But a person has to accept that changes need to be made or the consequences can be bad. So you watch the sugars and carbs in your diet, move on and adapt. I have developed problems with the digestion of fats. Inevitably my gall bladder, so I got angry, make another change in the diet and move on and adapt. Those 'Powers that Be' are forcing us to eat healthy and we are better for it, but it is annoying. There is a whole preparation to eating out - something we both love to do. The Internet is useful there, as most restaurants have their menus on-line and national chains have nutrition information readily available. Still, good thing I can cook, but that may be the reason we ended up with these minor difficulties. We must tell ourselves that we are basically very fortunate and move on.

On the Spring (in name only so far) front, we have violets and crocuses growing in the sheltered areas by the house. The ducks have landed on our pond - which still has some ice on it - and are quacking up a storm. The frogs have not come out yet - still too cold. We were doing some work outside this week and an osprey flew overhead. Boy, do they move! It dive bombed out of the sky and then pulled up and quietly landed on a tree branch. Amazing! That bird's cry is piercing and loud.

We also saw some of our eagles back, as well as the bats that live nearby, probably in our old barn. I think we have a cat nesting for her kittens in the barn as well. We do not go back there often - the barn houses our lawn tractor and not much else. Some would say to knock it down, but I like the way it looks like a part of the woods.