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.

Evaluating the Damages

This was a surprise. I had heard a large boom during one of the winter storms; after I had looked outside to see if anything had fallen on our house, I attributed the noise to 'snow thunder' - a phenomenon we get during rapid weather changes.Now that the snow is melting after 6 months of being on the ground, my husband and I could tour our grounds to survey the damage. I never expected one of our huge trees to have fallen over onto the pond. When we found this tree, we just stood there trying to figure what we do now. There are services that come in to clear this type of thing, but more and more there are companies that will pay you to log on your land. Now we are looking around the property to see if we have enough trees to have a company to thin them out and we could get PAID! That would be nice, and a lot less strain on the back - arms - shoulders, etc.
It was close to 60 degrees yesterday, and my husband's day off, so we started the clean-up. A beautiful day, but a lot of work. Chainsaw, reciprocating saw, shovel, pitchfork - we were armed! Old clothes, hats, safety glasses, gloves - we were ready! We were sweating! We were the rural cleaning force for clean yards everywhere! Well, our yard anyway...

We lost just about all our lilac trees and bushes due to the early snow in October, so they had to be cut down. I do not know if they can regrow, but 'people who know' say they may, but smaller. I am happy to say that part was easy. We also cut down an old pine tree in front of the bathroom and dining room window - amazing the light we get in those rooms now! We had high hopes of getting the entire yard of damage cleaned up in one day - right - sure! But I am proud of what we did get done before our exhaustion took over. This is where we have to admit we are middle aged and cannot get as much accomplished in one day.

And it snowed the next morning, as well as the morning of the first day of Spring. Makes it hard to be optimistic that Spring will really arrive soon. It seems to be here in name only.

To Everything, There is a Season...

Everyone gets to experience the traditional four seasons - summer, fall, winter, spring - but in the Poconos, we have many more seasons. Of course, there are the Hunting Season(s), something many people look forward to up here, as well as various Fishing Seasons (ice, trout, etc.), Camping Season, Boating Season - any season that gets the blood pumping in the followers of those activities. There are the sport seasons - Baseball, Football, Hockey, etc. But up here, we have some of our own special seasons:

Mud Season - comes right after the ice thaws and before the greenery starts. This season is especially appreciated by people with light colored rugs and new wood floors. Not much you can do about it and some communities celebrate it with special fairs and activities. An extra special attribute to the mud season is when it freezes again and makes for better slipping when driving or walking.

Road Repair Season - a special time that allows people from all walks of life to gather together on their way to -anywhere- to share in the joy and camaraderie that comes from the frustration of not getting where you are going. This season comes right after the Ice Season that causes other traffic delays, but is a contributing cause for Road Repair Season.

Ice Season (also known as Winter) - another source of frustration for drivers, and as mentioned above, closely allied with Road Repair Season. I give all the credit in the world to the plow drivers and salters, but they sometimes miss spots, or spots re-freeze, making for spectacular driving calisthenics. And, of course, all that freezing, thawing, salting and plowing leads us to...

Pot Hole Season - we have some of the most spectacular pot holes that I have ever witnessed in my years of driving. Axles have very little chance if it were not for the deft driving that a person develops up here.

However, worst pot hole that I have ever heard of occurred on the Belt Parkway in NYC. The traffic reports on the radio station went something like this:

10 after the hour= "We have a report of a pretty big pot hole on the Belt Parkway this morning. Be careful, as it is in the left lane."

20 after the hour= "We are getting a report that a Volkswagen Beetle as driven into the pot hole and has become stuck. That makes this a pretty big pot hole and we advise you to be careful and stay out of the left lane. NYC is sending out a crew to assess the situation."

40 after the hour= "Okay folks, this is a new one on me. The city has sent out the crew and they have put a flag on the car to alert traffic of its location. I guess they cannot get the car out, I don't know, but I would avoid the left lane of the Belt Parkway by any means possible!"

Sometimes I miss New York City traffic reports!

Clean-Up Season - before planting season, there is the traditional time for cleaning up after the ravages of Winter. As I said before, we had a lot of downed limbs and bent bushes from the ice storms. We also have some clean-up to the house and certainly some painting is in order soon. As far as raking the lawn of little bits and pieces, I prefer to leave that to the next season...

Windy Season - "March comes in like a lion," right? Well, we never raked our leaves because October must come in like a buffalo or other large animal. Someone got our leaves, but we got all the twigs and other roughage from the somewhere or somebody's lawn, but I have faith that the winds of March will just blow that stuff on along somewhere else. If not, in April, we rake - cannot rush these things.

Growing Season - I hope we can have one this year. It is shorter than I have been used to, but a couple of dear friends had a garden up here last year and the 'fruits of their labor' were wonderful. I hope we are as successful. But, of course, then we have to contend with deer, birds, etc. trying to eat our garden. Then will come...

Harvest Season - we hope...

Adaptations

I have noticed a phenomenon of 'hardening off' for people, animals, and plants during the cold winter months. I know many of our plants were severely damaged by our early, heavy, wet snow storm at the end of October - the plants had not had the opportunity to harden off yet to prepare for the snow. We have many broken limbs and bushes smashed by the weight of the snow caught in the leaves that had not fallen off yet - they just were not ready.

People get used to the cold as well and 'harden off' - we had a warm spell and most people were in shirt sleeves, no coats and shorts in temperatures that would have required a warm jacket on people who are not used to our often-bitter cold. Even now, I find we walk outside without a coat to tend to things that do not require a long time outside, but during the bitter temps we always put a coat on. By way of explanation, current air temperatures are now in the 30's during the day - much easier to handle than the 'teens and below that we have just lived through. We are hardened off. No guarantee the temperatures will not drop again, as snow is again predicted later this week. After all, the stupid groundhog did not see his shadow!

Birds get used to the cold somewhat, but when we have a break in the weather, they go crazy! Nice to walk outside and hear all that type of noise though. Some of the birds we have here have made adaptations that are very puzzling. We have a woodpecker who every year for the past two has tried to build a nest on our old, unused TV antennae. The antennae is, of course, a heavy aluminum type and has probably been attached to our chimney for 50 years. We have not taken it down because it is 'up there' and not hurting anything, and it is so well tethered in place with wires attached to adjacent buildings and other poles that we are afraid of starting a house-of-cards effect. So the woodpecker still tries to build a nest for a potential mate each spring and clangs his head on the metal trying to bore a hole in that thing. Annoying noise, but we admire his tenacity.

Another bird we had last year, and I hope comes back this year, provides moments of amusement for our cats (if you know about cats, moments of anything is an accomplishment - they get bored easily!) This bird is a bit of a clown, trying to sit on one of the guide wires for the power pole in our yard. The wire is attached to the ground at a 45 degree angle, but he still tries to perch on it, sliding down, getting back up, over and over again. On top of that, he is insisting that it is his right and this is his territory and swoops at anything that comes close to him. I am not afraid of him, but I do tend to wait until he flies away before I go outside. I just have these visions of the bird pecking me - I think it is Alfred Hitchcock damage. So I have adapted to him.

We will Swing Around

A phrase we hear a lot up here, "We will swing around to see you," is shorthand for 'we will come over whenever we get to it and when we want.' We hear this phrase uttered by friends, professionals, service personnel - and we find it a little maddening! We call up to get a repair for our hot water heater (which is new, but has taken a fit) and we explain to the manager/scheduler/wife that we need the plumber to come by at certain times so he can review the situation with my husband, who works evenings. So we get a phone call, after my husband has gone to work, that the plumber was going to swing by to assess the situation - now/today! So we call the manager/scheduler/wife, since we cannot call the plumber directly (cell phone service out here is another story) about the importance of seeing this guy at a certain time frames. "He is very busy," she says " putting in new tubs in condos, etc." That is very good and speaks highly of his abilities, but just 'swing around' anytime!

It is the culture up here, more relaxed and laid back. We got used to service people giving time frames in NJ, albeit very broad time frames, which they did not always adhere to. And it explains so much - why some places are open when they want, why you cannot reach individuals, why we have a veterinarian who comes to your house ('swings around') instead of you bringing the animal in. We have been late for appointments, not often, but a few times, and nobody gets upset. Worried, but not upset. In NJ, I was late for a Doctor appointment due to traffic and my Doctor was enraged! She lectured me about how it messed up her whole appointment schedule and never asked if I was okay. I apologized profusely, reminded her of how I have waited for her, but she was still incensed.

Our previous repair guy, a young man who has recently passed away, was always punctual, or I should say, always early! If he said 8 am, he was here at 7:30 - so he caught us in our night clothes more than once! He was from NY and had moved to escape as well. He had seen the 9/11 attacks from a roof in NYC, and that event and vision wore on him. His work was a personal mission, so everything had to be perfect - he would be heartbroken to know our water heater is acting up, since he installed it. But he often remarked about how people never kept appointments up here, or just showed up. We thought it was funny - now we understand.

Some of this 'swing around' stuff is charming. Our power/telephone pole is next to our garage, 400+ feet from the road, and I never thought about it until I looked out and saw a man climbing up the side of that pole early one morning. Of course, it belongs to the power company and they have every right to examine it, but I was getting dressed at the time! We are so far out, I do not have curtains in all the windows, especially if all they face is the woods, which is the side of the house where the pole is! After getting dressed and talking to the gentleman, I am pleased that they only certify the pole every five years. So he will not be swinging around for awhile.

And yes, some of our friends 'swing around' - we don't mind that. One of our friends yells at the house when he drives up "Are you dressed yet?" Charming...

More Introspection

I have been reflecting a lot these days - maybe it is a part of cabin fever. For you weather watchers, we are expecting a foot of snow in the next 24 hours, at least in the higher elevations, so that means here.

Anyway, introspectively, we have crossed a bridge in our country that I honestly never thought I would live to see. I remember the 'race riots' of the 1960's and the animosity that festered then. I also remember my father and oldest brother being the two biggest racists that I will ever know, my brother being the worst. If they were alive now, they would be sure the world is doomed.

My father was an "Archie Bunker" from All In The Family - they could have modeled the character after him. And yet, that was one of his favorite TV shows. I do not think he understood the main character was flawed; I think he thought he was right. My father hated certain ethnic groups - actually, I think he hated all ethnic groups - but he had an interesting array of friends. One of his best friends was actually a black man who was 'passin' - pretending to be Italian. My father never put that together, even when the daughter was very dark and had very curly hair. My mother told me about the guy having to do what was best for his family and I should not tell my father. The daughter was one of my friends in grade school and we never discussed the issue, as that was how it was done then.

We lived for a time near the Garden State Parkway, and during the riots in Asbury Park a gentleman's car broke down, so he came to our house to use the phone for help. He was very nervous, as he was an African American man entering into a white family's home, pretty far from other houses and in the middle of the night, amidst all the racial tension. My mother answered the door, let him in and gave him a cup of coffee and a couple of aspirin. After he took the aspirin, he panicked and was obviously afraid that my mother had poisoned him. It took a lot to reassure him that there was nothing wrong. I remember pondering how he was as frightened of us as we had been taught to be frightened of him. My father was asleep upstairs during all this. Being deaf, he did not hear anything, and as usual, my mother said I should never tell my father about the incident. But it made me realize that this was a person, not the stereotype that my father, and later my brother, preached about.

My father gave me a lecture once on who to marry. By the time he was done, there was pretty much nobody left! No Catholics, no Jews, no Blacks, no Orientals, etc. I took it all to mean that nobody was good enough for his little girl, but he was serious and threatened dis-ownment if I crossed any of the lines. I will say here, the lines were crossed...

My brother was so prejudiced that he would quit jobs if he were forced to work with someone outside his beliefs. And yet his first marriage was to a woman from a foreign country! Hard to figure, but I am sure he would threaten to move to Canada if he were alive today.

I am sure there are people still like my father and brother today. I hope they are more open to a dialogue to resolve their issues. Or they at least stay quiet.

Okay, This is Cold!

Seems I talk about the weather a lot - and I do! I talk to my friends and they always ask "How cold is it?" I think it makes them feel better about the moderate amount of cold that they have in NJ or wherever. But this week - this is cold! Below zero air temperature and who knows what wind chill. Has not been this cold since 2005, as the local weather caster, Joe Snedeker, likes to point out - and we know how we can trust weather people! He did make one point - people are proud of their cold. It is a competition to see who can take home the imaginary prize for coldest temperature. I think today was minus 15! Okay, you win!

Reminds me of how cold it was when we were looking for this house - should have been a clue, huh? We had the one house we called the 'ice house,' whose driveway was so slick with ice we had to hold on to each other to get back to the car - human-chain style. This week my hubby and I were walking to the bottom of our hill to get to the car and were reminded of that incident as I slipped and grabbed him by the collar, chocking him, to get my balance. We were fine, but he did not appreciate being used as a prop to hold me up! To explain, we park at the bottom of the driveway so there is not so much to shovel when it snows (note 'when,' not 'if'). One detail - when the driveway is all ice, how do we get to the car? Slide, Charlie Brown, slide!

We bought a snow blower yesterday - finally. We give up.