It seems that as soon as the lovely spring flowers and trees start to show their first blooms the rabbits show up in our yard and start munching on the new buds. We have a beautiful patch of lilac flowers that the rabbits seem to enjoy the most. As cute as rabbits are, I would really like to keep my flowers! I tried a few different tricks and found that Deer Off spray (bought from my local home supply store) really works. Okay, it doesn’t smell very nice when you first apply it, but it keeps the critters away. You just have to remember to spray again after it rains.
While I was outside spraying I couldn’t help but notice all of the yard work that needs to be done (again!) And along with the spring flowers come the weeds of course. Maybe I should learn to love the weeds? Even if I could I don’t think my hubby would. He’s already started his first round of yard care and attacking the weeds in the lawn was top on his list. And to be honest, I don’t like it when they try to take over my flower beds either.
The weather has been so cold I don’t think I’ve stepped out in to my backyard in weeks. And when it’s not cold, it’s raining, so the ground is saturated. When I look out the back windows, everything looks so gray and bare compared to lush colors of the spring and summer. I see that the squirrels have knocked over the bird bath again in their attempt to jump up to the bird feeder. As a matter of fact I’m overdue to refill the feeder, so I guess I’ll have to get myself into the backyard soon to take care of it and have a good look at the rest of the yard while I’m at it.
When I look at the winter yard, it makes me miss spending warm evenings on the back porch, though it doesn’t make me miss the mosquitos which come uninvited every year. We’ll need to spruce up some plants this spring, and trim back a few overgrown bushes. Our vegetable patch was pretty sad last year, so we’re going to have the soil tested this year before we do any planting. Yes, I’m looking forward to a beautiful warm spring.
Just when I thought I could put off thoughts of Christmas and Christmas shopping, family members who live out-of-state have started asking about gift ideas for the children. While I love that they care enough to want to give our kids a gift for the holidays, the very thought of thinking of the holidays starts my head spinning. I mean, I’m still adjusting to the fact it’s already November and that I’ll have to start planning a Thanksgiving menu soon. But I guess there’s no escaping it, is there?
I have some friends who do a really good job of keeping the gift-giving to a minimum. They feel that their children are always well-provided for and do not need to be inundated with gifts like that in one day. Plus it takes a way from the meaning of the holiday. I admire that they’ve been able to keep it to one special gift for each person since I have a hard time not wanting to load the tree with loads of beautifully wrapped boxes. But if you were to ask me what we got each other last Christmas I would have a hard time remembering. So I guess the trick is to not go so overboard but still make it special.
Wow, it’s hard to believe it, but next weekend is the July 4th holiday already. Time feels like a runaway train sometimes. The news channels seem to think it won’t be as big a travel holiday as it has been in the past since gas prices have gone up a bit again and many people are still struggling in this economy. I’ve never been very big on traveling on the holidays myself. I usually try to avoid it if I can since I can’t stand to be stuck in traffic or crowded airports. I much prefer traveling on off-peak times, so much more peaceful and generally less expensive too.
So this July 4th weekend we have a big neighborhood party going on. It’s great fun for everyone - lots of fun safe play for the kids with water balloons and harmless poppers. Then we’ll bbq and do the big fireworks when it starts to get dark. It’s a great way to get to know neighbors better and for the kids to spend time hanging out with other kids in the neighborhood. All and all a fun family way to spend the holiday. And then when things quiet down in a couple of weeks, we can head to the beach when it’s not so crazy and crowded.
It seems most of us end up running around all week long- whether its spending time at work and school, or running the many errands and carting the kids off to sporting games and play dates. So when the weekend finally rolls around we simply look forward to making time for some good old-fashioned family fun and much-needed precious rest and relaxation. While some people seem to prefer to pack their weekends with things to do, a lot of us prefer to try to schedule as few things as possible and take a break from the constant feeling of being on the go.
Top on the list is skipping the alarm clock and catching up on some much-needed sleep. Then there’s making time for some family meals, from big breakfasts of pancakes, bacon, and eggs to dinners cooked outside on the grill. Or maybe as a special treat, Mom and Dad can take a break from cooking and go out to eat for a change. Another favorite is family movie night - finding a movie everyone can enjoy and popping up a batch of buttery popcorn. It doesn’t matter so much what we do for family fun, as long as we focus on turning off the cell phones and spending some great time together.
