It is Indiana after all. That's why I wasn't quite as excited as my 8th grade daughter a few weeks ago when she joined in with a radio announcer's countdown to official spring as I drove her to school one morning. That morning wasn't as nice as some we'd already had, and it certainly wasn't as nice as several we had last week. And March 5, 6 and 7, excuse me, April 5, 6 and 7- it just seems like March, were no picnic either.
My neighbor, Kevin Thompson, has been reluctant to move the space heaters out of his finishing barn. Their sole purpose is just to keep the chill off the air and not let things drop below 40, certainly not below freezing. More than the hogs get uncomfortable then. If it drops too far, as it did last winter, water lines begin to freeze, and that doesn't leave Kevin or anyone else in a very good mood.
I thought he was a bit touched for leaving those things in the aisles where they're in the road three weeks ago. Now it looks I'm the one that might have been touched. Odds are they've kicked on and ran some the last couple of days, especially at night.
What would Indiana be without some snow flakes and ice pellets hitting the windshield and front picture window at least once in April? You don't have to live near Lake Michigan to see snow in Indiana in April, either.
The grass has greened up here in central Indiana. But it's waiting for Mother Nature to drop the green flag so it can race away, growing several inches in a hurry. A couple neighbors have had their lawn mowers out already. One has even mowed twice. But it's not because the grass would have been too tall to cut by now if they had waited to start. They're just eager beavers. That's one thing I'm in no hurry to do.
It would be nice to have pasture to turn the sheep on in a few days. We fertilized it, but it's just waiting to take off. Nighttime temperature sin the upper '20s degrees F aren't going to encourage it to start shooting up very fast.
The only good thing is that I know the same thing the grass does- there may be ice crystals hitting my window now and then this afternoon, but their days are numbered. We're headed into warmer weather, and eventually snow and ice will be a memory, at least for another six to seven months, more or less.
I wouldn't say I'm up for singing, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" – I'm as ready for warmer weather as the next person. But a few flakes on a blustery March-like day in April is par for the course in Indiana. This too shall pass, as the poets say. And when it does, and as soon as it doesn't rain every other day, soils will dry, and we'll be into another fast and furious planting season.
So sit back and catch a few extra winks now while snow flakes dance outside. Just like the snowflake, your snoozing days are numbered. Just have patience- those long, hazy days of summer aren't as far away as they seem this afternoon.
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