Ate breakfast in the lady den this morning. Finally got some strawberries and a cantaloupe that taste pretty good. Was just a little too cool to breakfast on the porch.

Oldest brother came over mid morning and I gave him some Big Boy tomato seeds. He was excited. We tried to find Big Boy plants last year but couldn’t. We’re both excited to start our gardens but are letting Mother Nature warm up the soil first. She’s still got a few winter days in her purse.

When oldest brother left, Penelope and I went out to spend the day on the porch. The sky was gray but the sun wrestled with the clouds and eventually cleaned up the cloud cover. The breeze helped push the clouds away, too. Mother Nature has started what I call the spring greening. I counted 16 different shades of green looking out over my neighborhood. The trees are breaking out in their yellow/green buds and new leaves. Our street has lots of evergreens and they are all different colors of dark green and the deciduous trees are dressing up in their favorite shade of green. Must be fun getting new spring clothes but they better find their coats cause Mother Nature is lowering the temperature next week.

I sat in the sun on the swing all afternoon. Didn’t have to retreat to the shade of the other swing. Enjoyed just sitting and pondering. Occasionally dictated a thought but mostly I lay my head back, shut my eyes, and let the sun warm my face. Felt so good to feel the warmth. I had just about nodded off when I heard a loud whistle. Sounded like a lifeguard whistle or a police whistle. Figured it was a mocking bird. They are good at whistles. I looked but couldn’t find the culprit. After a little research I read that wrens can whistle. Wrens are loud critters, too. I used to hear a mocking bird in Alexander City whistle just like I do when I called our yard dogs. The bird must have learned that whistle from me. Chief never whistled.

The pansies are so beautiful today. I sat all the pots out in the rain yesterday. They’re standing straight up enjoying the cool breeze. They’ll love the cold next week. Just saw a turkey buzzard shadow. I watch their shadows every day. I never see them do anything but soar way up high. Don’t know where they roost at night. Just glad it’s not at my house. I read vultures are gregarious and don’t squabble among themselves like song birds. That’s an interesting fact. Swans squabble the most. They’ll resort to murder to win an argument.

Been trying to decide if I have a favorite season. I love fall when it’s cardigan wearing time. I love button up sweaters. My drawers are full of them. I love the changing leaves of fall. I love winter because of pansies and Christmas and the chance that a few snowflakes will come my way. I love spring because it brings daffodils and miniature wildflowers and flocks of migrating song birds and humming birds drop by. I like summer because of homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers and my flower beds of zinnias and sunflowers and swimming pools and sleeping with the windows open. I can’t pick a season, I enjoy them all.

I think we get through the dreary days of winter knowing spring is coming. If we didn’t have winter we wouldn’t appreciate spring.

We can relate the stages of our lives to the seasons. Different seasons of life have different responsibilities. Some seasons have storms, some have sunshine and rainbows. We leave our childhood behind in the fall and winter days of our youth and spring forward in the twilight of our adult lives into the summer of old age.

No winter lasts forever. “Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.”—Anita Krizzan