Spring
By: Christine Hersom
(3 min read)
As of Easter weekend this year, Old Man Winter has finally let go of his stronghold on my part of the world. My first thought was…Thank God. My next thought was…I hate Spring. I know, I know, that is tantamount to treason around here. I know that it is the time the earth wakes back up and new growth appears. It is also time to get rid of the ugliness of Winter.
I have some valid reasons for hating Spring. Although it is the time when the earth comes back to life, it requires a ton of work. The first half of Spring in my part of the world is mud season. My driveway looks like a mud track at the Mud Truck Championships. Getting in and out of it without getting stuck should be an Olympic sport. The amount of dirt and rocks decorating my front lawn from the snowplows all winter defies logic. I bet my three-acre property has grown an acre in dirt and rocks. This would be fine, except the growth is on top of the acreage, not adding to it. The burnt ugliness of my front lawn is scary. The salt products put on the roads all winter makes it look like a burnt pile of Ramen noodles. My Holly bushes have grown up and out and taken over the front of the house. The amount of trimming required makes me feel like an overbooked landscaper. I love my Holly bushes, but it pains me to realize that they do not sleep during the Winter. They continue to grow and grow. It makes me wonder if they are invasive. It feels like it every Spring.
Where I live, we have old rock walls around our property. I can’t even begin to explain what finds its way into the nooks and crannies over the Winter. At the end of Fall, I am convinced that the rock walls are clean and ready for Winter. When Old Man Winter lets go, the rock walls are full of leaves, dirt, roadside trash, animal waste, and weeds (again, with the stuff growing during the Winter).
The advent of Spring brings hours of outdoor work. Raking, draining pooling water, and filling holes. I also get to look for chunks of sod that the plow guy ripped up over the Winter. By the time all the Spring chores get done…it will be Summer. I even hold off on the Spring cleaning of my home. With the mud track as a driveway, there is no point in spending countless hours doing a deep clean. I know that in five minutes’ time, the mud from the driveway will be in the house. Ugh!!
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours with the Spring chores. I raked the daycare play area to prepare it for the children. I do arm strengthening exercises every day. Today my arms feel like I used muscles that I have never used before. In some spots, my arms feel like I used muscles that I never had before. Another joy of Spring…aching muscles.
The only part of the mud season that I enjoy is the vernal pond in the back of our property. Every year a mated pair of mallard ducks land in our pond. They spend a few days resting before continuing their journey north. When the ducks arrive, you know Spring has also arrived. Ducks are usually spot on for detecting the seasons and the weather. Meteorologists could learn something from ducks. But that is a rant for another time.
Summer is my favorite season of the year. The hotter, the better. Everything is in full bloom. Other than mowing, the yard work of Spring is a distant memory. I can’t remember a time when it rained so hard and long that Summer turned into mud season. Life is good in the Summer.
I realize that the majority of people love Spring the most of all the other seasons. I understand that I am in the minority here. I find the work required to make the yard presentable again to be distasteful. By the time my lawn is ready to show the new growth, it is almost Summer. I need to move to a place where it is summer year-round.
Christine Marshall Hersom
All Things Wellness, LLC
christinehersom@yahoo.com
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