The Crazy Weather

Living 28 years on the arid High Plains could never prepare me for the crazy weather of the Midwest. Today the sun is shining, which is wonderful because it doesn't happen very often. Usually the sky is cloudy and threatening to rain.

Yesterday morning began with a light coat of snow. I was upset, thinking only of the sprouting tulips and daffodils I thought for sure would be damaged, but by the end of the day the temperature was perfectly divine to me (arguably chilly to some, i.e. Dusty), and the tulips had grown a full four inches since the morning. Craziness! Back home my lilies reached their maximum height of four inches by June and never had a chance to bloom before they were eaten by roaming mule deer. What a big difference the altitude makes!

It's been a mild winter people say. No big snowstorms (yet), but I still don't like the gray skies, and I am still amazed that the rain falls all night long. Although the grass has stayed mostly green all winter (craziness!), I am craving color and voraciously combing seed catalogs with my yearning. I can't depend on bright blue skies (taken for granted all my life in Colorado), but I can create a palate of color on the ground that may offer some relief from the greyness of the skies. Sometimes this place reminds me of Kansas described by L. Frank Baum in "The Wizard of Oz," all flat and gray.

Not to speak unkindly about Ohio - there is much to love about the Buckeye State. I even wrote a song about it, in the style of John Denver, rejoicing in the beauty that can be found anywhere to those who look for it. My commentary is not for a sinister purpose. I welcome the challenge of planning and maintaining a garden in a place that has no shortage of water. My house plants are happier here, and I think I can make a successful effort to grow veggies and flowers and create an inviting outdoor space.