Going Through the Motions

It’s my morning to write and I can’t think of anything to say. The sun is going through the motions on another cold day, rising to spotlight the branches of the oak across the street. The squirrels are fighting over bird seed. Traffic dribbles down the Moncure Pittsboro Road. The forced air heat and refrigerator condenser hum away.

Winter is hanging on longer than usual and I have to say the joke is getting old. When we returned from the tropics in December we consoled ourselves that we’d missed the first half of winter. Nature, it would seem, is determined to give us the full dose by extending the season.

Bob and I have had our morning cups of coffee and tea. I’ve got sourdough starter pancake mix gestating on the counter and veggeroni sandwich ‘meat’ baking in the oven. Bob has already uncovered the hopeful little lettuce plants in his container garden.

We’re headed to work in an hour or so, me to putter around, prettying up the grounds at the main entrance on the north side of campus and he to continue constructing two greenhouses on the south side of the property. Ray will probably be there making fuel and the farm will be bustling with activity.

Weather Underground says it’ll get warm today, maybe even into the 70’s. Everyone I’ll meet in town will say the same thing, “Ready for Spring, yet?”

Temperatures have been swinging wildly – a few days of tee shirt wearing followed by days of down jacket weather. One morning we wake up with our bedroom windows open and the next to see ice on on them.

If you graphed this years daily highs and lows, it would look like the lie detector test of a naughty five year old.

Apparently, all I can think to write about this morning is how demoralizing it is to weather Mother Nature’s mood swings as she prepares to ovulate. Every day we go through the motions and some days are rewarded by warmth. Those are the days we get a spring in our step, take a deep breath and fling our jackets aside. We call out to the farmers and anyone who comes near, “Isn’t this nice?!”

I’m pretty sure today will be one of those days.