Early spring snow

Solitary tree

The weather doesn't always cooperate when I want to do something outside. All last week I was doing yard work but had to stop because of the snow storm that visited today. Ironically, the normally inaccurate weatherman was actually spot on.

Like Fall, Spring is the transition months between hot and cold weather. So there's a lot of atmospheric stuff going on. No, I'm not an expert, but even I can tell when the weather's going wonky.

The warmth from the south battles the cold from the north. And we little lifeforms get caught in the middle. The battle for weather supreme surrounds us as we go about our day. I can almost imagine the various pressure systems and storms being armies of the summer and winter court. Beings of such immense power, that we don't even understand them. We just call them natural phenomenon. No doubt, they rarely notice us in all our noise and lights. We're on the surface. They're in the sky. flying in their invisible crafts vying for control of the heavens.

Perhaps my imagination is a little over-bored but I've always imagined storms and other weather antics to be the result of beings unlike ourselves. So far advanced, that we seem little more than insects to them. Certainly entertaining in our own way, but insects nonetheless.

So the next time the weather is doing something wonky, wave. You never know what sort of beings might be watching.

Yard Work

Wild Turkey Trot

The first day of spring was yesterday but the weather has been unseasonably warm for the past few weeks. So, for those of us who are frozen half the year, this means getting a head start on outdoor cleaning.

This is what I've been doing for that past couple of days; trimming up trees, racking leaves and cutting back weeds. I'm trying to make my yard look purdy, instead of like a **ithole.

When you live in the country like I do, it's easy for nature to take back your yard. Unless you're spending a large chunk of your time mowing and trimming (or weeding and spraying herbicides), random plants, not just dandelions, start showing up everywhere.

Some of these plants are actually kind of nice to have, such as violets. I have a large section under my trees that is nothing but these early spring flowers. Not only are their purple/blue flowers pretty to look at, they also provide food for bees.

Other plants are not only a nuisance but they're invasive as well. We all know about dandelions (which I don't mind actually) but what I'm talking about are those plants that literally choke out native species.

The first year you notice them, there might only be one or two plants. The next year? a dozen or more. They either have prolific seeds or runners, sometimes both.

The worst of these for me is the cucumber vine. Not only is it prolific, but it grows fast too. I had one grow up next to a wild grapevine. I didn't know what kind of plant it was back then. It didn't take long for it to outgrow and takeover my grapevine. Because it drops a large quantity of fast germinating seeds, before I knew it, my yard was overcome.

I'm not one for using chemicals if I don't have too, though I could go that route. Many people do. I personally feel we have too many chemicals already in our lives, we don't need more. So every year I spend some time cutting and pulling unwanted plants, mostly vines, from specific areas so the yard looks neat.

Because I don't use chemicals, I've had to redefine what types of plants belong in a yard. While mostly it's grass, I do let other plants grow. Things like creeping charlie, though invasive, grow close to the ground, provide plenty of coverage and even has small  but pretty early spring flowers. Other plants, like violets, grow well under shade. They're perfect for those areas that don't necessarily need mowing every week but you want somewhat neat looking. Even the dreaded dandelion gets to stay in my yard. Though I have to admit, they don't do well because my yard is mostly shaded and they prefer sun. There are others, but those are the main ones.

What do these plants have in common beside normally being considered a weed? They're invasive. But not to the point of choking out all other plants. They're also low to the ground and require less mowing than grass. This means less work for me. I have a large yard, so this is somewhat important.

Having various plants besides grass growing in my yard has another benefit too. I get to see more animals than most folks. Most wildlife, like the turkey pictured above, don't eat grass. They eat other plants or bugs that eat other plants. It helps that I have trees surrounding my property which provide shelter.

All in all, while it might not be manicured to the point of boring, I have a yard that I can enjoy along with nature.

:)

Keeping up the habit

Water Volcano 

I almost forgot to write today. Yard work is such a time suck.

Anywho, Writers Digest is doing a Poem a Day contest for the month of April. As I used to write poetry, I think this is something that I will attempt to do. I believe it will help with the Habit Of Writing.

It's more of an exercise than a contest, though they do have it set up so it can be. If people want to participate, all they have to do is leave their poem in the comments section. Of course, it's not mandatory to do so. Contest winners get to have their poems put in an anthology of sorts. So, nothing to grand. Should be fun.

Still, getting prompts and outside suggestions is as important as doing the work in the first place. It can help overcome writers block and improve ones own writing ability. Hopefully the feedback from the contest is worth entering in the first place.

I honestly don't like reading poetry, though I love writing it. Weird, huh? Most of my early works were written with a song in mind. I.E. I was writing lyrics without any music. I read song lyrics all the time back then. Guess that's why I wrote like I was writing one. My mind didn't really make the connection that lyrics are a form of poetry too.

But, if I intend to get back into writing poetry, I need to start reading some. I have a couple of books of Poe and Eliot. And that is where I'll start. I have a couple of weeks. Best if I brush up on rhyme, meter and all that jazz, before then. The best way to do that is to read the masters. That way, when the contest starts, I'll be better prepared.

:)

Day two in the journey of... something

Red Wing

New habits are easily derailed by squirrels of distraction. Now, I'm not talking about the kind that haunt the trees (though my dog might disagree), I'm talking about the ones that haunt my peripheral awareness.

You know the ones, they hide just out of sight taunting you with things like, housework. Or worse, leisure time in front of one device or another. They remind you of chores left undone, of books unread. Nag you about friends you haven't seen in a while or that show at the local theater. 

They lure you away from whatever it is you're trying to do simply because they can. And when you're fully engrossed in whatever they presented you in the first place, they'll remind you of what it was you were trying to do to begin with. But now you're comfy, or busy doing something else. Perhaps not even home. 

In the end, what was supposed to get done, gets pushed off till tomorrow. Instead of learning a new habit, you reinforce an old one. Procrastination. 

This habit is the bane of all would-be productive people. Like a begging dog, it's so easy to learn. And so hard to break. 

Still, with a little determination and willpower, it's not impossible to unlearn a bad habit. I just need to capture those pesky squirrels and do away with them. Then I'll be fine, really.

Until next time :)

Beginnings suck!

Looking up

Life is an endless loop. Where one part ends another begins. It's very hard to separate events because they all tie into one another.

Yet, this is what I'm trying to do. Start over. Create a new character and begin the game again. Except, the new character has all of the old characters problems. There's a lot that can be walked away from, but I can't walk away from myself.

Recreating that internal part that makes me who I am is seriously difficult. It's like a video game, every character has the same basic stats that can't be changed. The fighter will always be strong. The mage will always have high mana. The thief will always be extremely dexterous. The tropes of games visited upon the real world.

So, where to begin? As every beginning is another stories ending it's hard to see where to draw the line. Still, if I don't, I'll just be walking an endless treadmill of obscurity.

So I guess I'll begin by writing short little blurbs, daily if I can, about whatever random stuff that comes to mind. They won't be long, but that's OK.

:)