| When spring breaks around here, it really breaks. Breaks wide open in great blue shiny skies and sunlight so twinkling that it draws the smiles out of you without even trying. The gray cobby ghosts of winter that have been cluttering my inner closet just had to leave because of all the sun and light and caressing warmth that filled my soul today. Cats have been in every open window and clean brisk spring air has swept out all the dark smells of depression that built up over five months of being shut in.
I am declaring that spring is officially here to stay! Actually, it started yesterday but I had a lingering exhaustion from the stomach flu/virus that hit the whole family over the weekend. I was the last one to get it despite all my hand washing and disintectant spraying on all the handles and doorknobs. We all sat on the deck and soaked in the springness of the day. Then Amy pieced together a bbq meal on the spur for us. Hers was planned but ours wasn't. After Bill poopoo'd the tuna salad, that was the only thing that sounded good to me, Amy found two already formed hamburger patties in our freezer and Bill was in business. After I realized that there were two hamburgers she had found, I opted out of tuna salad, too. Still feeling unenergetic from being sick, it was nice to have someone cook for me. We had our first outdoor eating gala of the season and very pleasant it was indeed.
And now, as all good days must do, this one is fading. It was invigorating to feel so good again and now I'm tuckered out from it. Rain coming tomorrow, I hear, but it's not going to break my spirit anymore this year. |
The night was still so warm and inviting that Bill and I stayed on the deck and waited for the raccoon to appear to eat the steak bone and bread that I had thrown down. I didn't think he'd be coming that early because I hadn't seen him for several days at that time. But we sat there and quietly talked of things of no great importance and enjoyed the stars in the clear sky. And then, all of a sudden, our floodlight was triggered and there he was shyly coming out from under Addy's plastic playset. He found the first part of the bread the at the playset's edge and gently began munching on it with those deft little paws he has. I love the feel of those paws. When I was rehabbing raccoons two years ago, I loved to let them feel all over my head with those wonderful paws. They were fascinated with the feel of my hair and skin. This is a picture of our nighttime feeder that I took the next day. For some reason, he came out an hour before nightfall to forage for food.