There are no words in my vocabulary to express my thoughts and feelings about the weather extremes last week. Uff. I am really hoping that Ma Nature has vented all her anger at whoever or whatever upset her. I spent quite a bit of time venting to her, I know.
The change of seasons always inspires me to do what my kids always refer to as “the purge”. Because I’m aware that I need to move the winter clothes out of the main closet and the warmer weather clothes back in, that means that it’s also time to go through everything not worn enough to justify keeping and finally get rid of those purchases that I wore perhaps one or two times.
Uff. That’s all I can say about this up and down weather. Right now it’s sleeting. We’ve had rain and snow is predicted later today. And. We’re not done yet. Tuesday and Wednesday are slated to bring another band of freezing moisture. Enough already, Mother Nature. We’re all sorry we offended you. Calm down. The entire country is facing extremes: floods, fires, blizzards. Late hibernation sounds just wonderful. Wake me when it’s sunny and the grass is green.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about values. Not just as a word, but as an invisible force that shapes our lives. Values are the foundation of civilization, the unspoken contract that binds us together. They define who we are, not just as a society, but as a family. We stand for something. We believe in something. Without values, we are lost—adrift in a sea of moral relativism.
We inch on towards spring. The sunshine this week has been wonderful, but once again the wind defeats her chance at warming us up. I’m itching for green. Grass, leaves. And flowers. My thin patience is wearing even thinner. But I’ll get over it.
I’ve had an easy life, like canoeing down a river, one mile leads to the next, Tuesday follows Monday, obey the rules, portage around dams, don’t approach alligators unless their eyes are closed, and don’t argue with men with large eyebrows carrying shotguns.
I’ve fully committed to yet another year of trying to grow vegetables and herbs. Thus, over the weekend, I carefully went through all of the seed packets, and looked up all the information on starting each individual kind of seed, figuring out which ones need to be started indoors, and which need to be put directly into the ground.
What’s in your woodland?
I once walked down Wabasha Avenue in downtown St. Paul and was stopped by an old wino who asked for something to eat and when I gave him a couple bucks, he said, “You’re Garrison Keillor, you can do better than that.” The man had bad habits but his thinking was clear. I was a nobody from Anoka who got his picture on the cover of Time and my notoriety should mean profits for the needy. But that was many years ago and fame fades fast. I haven’t been recognized by a wino for at least thirty years.
Wow. What a busy week. And the coming week will not slow down for many of you. Congratulations to all the young people in the area that competed or are going to compete this coming week in the State Basketball Championships. Your commitment to basketball is awesome.