Survive Winter To Find Spring

By Katie McDougal, kmcdougal@miconews.com

“I THINK I Can, I Think I Can,” said the Little Red Engine. Or something like that.

Well, I think I have managed to make it through yet another winter. There just isn’t much I like about winter. I like the first fresh snowfall, but only for about an hour. As soon as the snow plows pile it up in dirty clumps, I am ready for spring and summer.

SUNDAY WAS an almost perfect day. I sat in the front room with my two “girls” and enjoyed the early morning while watching the humming birds and two brilliant male Baltimore orioles feeding on the nectar feeders outside our big front window. We also had a beautiful male cardinal parading up the rail on the ramp to the little deck at the front of our house. Numerous other birds were also in the yard under the feeders in the trees. The finches are back, along with several blue birds, as well as numerous other kinds of birds.

And, guess what? My Mother’s Day present was a new book on Kansas birds. It is really nice and well-organized for the ancient mind. It even has a color-coding system.

AFTER CHURCH, the family all had dinner out so the “moms” didn’t have to cook or do dishes. Upon returning home, I put my outdoor clothes on and helped with the horse chores. The grass and weeds were getting so tall around the barn, I thought I would mow them off up high, leaving the grass for the horses to be turned out on from time to time.

Well, I didn’t get much mowing done as I ventured into an unknown site, covered with lots of growth, and sank my lawnmower. It was in deep enough that I knew it wasn’t going to pull out. I just turned off the engine and went to the house.

SINCE IT was Mother’s Day, I indulged myself in playing Scrabble on the computer, something I do even if it isn’t Mother’s Day. After a time, No. 2 son Douglas came in and said he had my yearling horse colt, King’s EZ Ride, tied up in the alleyway of the barn. I had been waiting to get someone to help me get EZ in, but Douglas surprised me with yet another gift — that of getting my little guy out of the muddy lot and removing a lot of winter hair and mud. I spent a good part of the remainder of the afternoon out there in the barn working with both EZ and Savannah. It was balm for the soul! The family wandered in and out to keep me company.

I AM SURE farmers are chomping at the bit to get into the fields and get their crops planted. One wonders if we shouldn’t be putting in a rice crop since it seems there is going to be a shortage. However, I don’t think rice is the only thing we are going to be short of, especially if it doesn’t stop raining long enough to get the planting done.

NEWS FROM gardeners has been scarce. In fact, I don’t believe anyone has said much about planting gardens. Our garden looks like a rice field. Next year, we are going to find another garden spot with much better drainage. Douglas does have about six tomato plants in one side of the garden, which seems to be draining.

DAUGHTER Marti put a purple clematis out in front of the deck last year. Being on the north side of the house, we wondered if it would survive. However, it did and is really growing. I counted at least nine buds on it during the weekend. My mother loved clematis, but then she loved all flowers. I think my peonies are going to bloom, but will not be as pretty as they were last year. The roses are beginning to bud and are growing well. They are sheltered on the south side of the house. And, the Easter lily we planted last year has come up. We were very skeptical about it surviving.

AFTER WE let the pups outdoors, it almost looks like we are growing black and white puppies in our yard, with one black puppy thrown in as a little icing on the cake. Of course, they are no longer puppies, but they are to us. They do love to get outdoors, but they are usually ready to come back in shortly unless we are out there with them. When Nina lets them out in the morning, I race to my recliner and cover up with a blanket as I know they are going to come racing in to pounce into my lap, wetter than sop from the dew on the grass. Then we all nestle down to watch the first news of the day and for me to drink that first cup of coffee. And, adding to the early morning quiet time are my two grown “girls.”

SEVERAL area 4-H clubs are participating in the “4-H Million Trees Project.” A lot of information is available at http://4hmilliontrees.org. The goal is to get the approximately 7 million 4-H members in the United States and Canada to plant 1,000,000 trees to improve the air quality. Two of the 4-H club stories I wrote for this week’s paper had each club purchasing three trees to plant and maintain in its community. What a great thing that is. I encourage everyone to check out this Web site as well as another one I found, www.livinglandsandwaters.org/milliontrees/default.htm. This site has nothing to do with 4-H, but it has to do with planting trees. I have been thinking about getting another tree to plant on our place and this has really brought that thought home. I may not see these new plantings get very big, but maybe my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren will. I am enjoying trees planted by my grandparents and a tree I remember helping my father plant.



HAPPY TRAILS to you until we meet again! Maybe when we meet again, you will have planted a tree. I hope so.