Bring Me Spring!

I love how quickly everything turns green, and how lush and bright the new growth is :)

I'm not going to get too excited and go ahead and start planting things. My green thumb knows it's boundaries. And never dismiss the fact that Mother Nature likes to throw in a March snow here and there. But, I am so ready to get out in the yard, this year! I love walking the yard, checking out what is coming back this year and how much bigger it has gotten. Momma says Pop-paw would get so excited he'd be caught gently scratching dirt back to see if something was growing that he'd planted. It is so cool to see something sprout from a seed. I feel so much better than I did last year. I had a really difficult time regulating my sugar last year. I did everything I could, through diet, to make myself better, but didn't get to feeling great again until I started running. I haven't had much time to get to the track here lately. I have been hiking and using the exercise bikes to keep fit. I hope to get to the track either tonight or tomorrow. I've been asked a lot if I've lost weight. Last time I got on the scales, I had actually gained weight, but my clothes are loose on me, so what do I care. I haven't asked it lately because a number doesn't mean much right now. I've noticed changes to my body. I have never had angles before. Maybe, my arms, a little. My legs are awesome, right now. I'm not bragging. Heck, I'm not even sure if they are my legs. They look foreign to me. I cut my leg shaving the other day and hollered for Lee to bring me a bandaid. As I tossed my foot on the sink so he could get to the nick below my knee, I noticed that my calf was flattened by the maneuver and I had developed several new leg muscles. Crap I didn't know was there to develop. After hiking this weekend, I noticed how my ankles are even changing. I've really been paying attention, trying to strengthen them, due to a tendon injury that seems to have finally healed. Off subject, rambling :) The yard, feel so good, lots of energy, can't wait! I want a roof on the back porch. It's just too damn hot to enjoy it out there these days. I believe it will also cut down on our cooling, bill-wise to not have the sun beating directly on the lower half of our house. I want it screened in with screen doors, but may have to wait until next year for that, unless I buy the materials and do it myself. The front porch needs a ceiling. I want to paint it haint blue, like people used to to ward off evil. I don't believe it, but I still enjoy the folksy sentiment. We need to decide on a gravel/rock to cover our mulch beds. I am so freaking sick of remulching every year. It's so much work and very dirty. Dirty for days, dirty. I may be pricey, but will pay off in a few years. We have been very happy with our river pebble path we created right after we bought this place. No maintenance in all these years! We want to plant some vines that actually produce grapes or muscadines. I need to prune the crepe myrtles and roses. I want to move the garden up closer to the house...I think. And, I plan on finishing that fence this spring. My window boxes are going to be sooo pretty this year! Hmmm, just remembered skeeters and ticks. Yuck! Not looking forward to them. Is too much Off harmful? Well, we're all gonna die of something, might as well be comfortable in the meantime.

Bitching about the vicious Alabama insects aside, here are a few of my favorite things, clockwise from the top left: Baby blue birds hatching from the houses we provide, Lee riding around the yard on his tractor, pciking our first ripe vegetables, and puppy dogs keeping me company on the porch when I take a break.