These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Monday, May 05, 2008

spring

it's here, sort of.

many a person has said that spring's here because tulip time's here. that's a fair assessment. however, this past week has been quite chilly and some of the temps and rainy conditions made it feel like late october. i'm hoping it's all done with now.

so yes, tulip time is here. it's ok, but after five of them, it's lost the charm it held when i first arrived. i'll admit to enjoying some of it. i do enjoy the dutch dancers moving in unison and i do sit and wach the parades, at least the saturday parade (in the past i've never had the opportunity to watch the others, really). i like listening to the marching bands as they pass through eighth stree or van raalte ave. corny, perhaps, but it's interesting. also, i like watching the people. i make myself seem like a townsperson, so i am not mistaken for a tourist.

also, our gardening is coming along nicely. we've bought some easter lilies and have planted them up front to mix with the rest of the plants. i'd like more flowery perennials up front to mix with the greenery. i like colors like purple, pink and red. for my birthday dawn bought me tomato and green pepper plants and some onion bulbs. they're in the ground. i enjoy caring for the plants and relaxing. there's nothing like watering plants, spraying them off or cleaning off the plants, pruning here or there. it takes my mind off work or any other worries. i worked last summer and into the fall. it's a great. i find gardening a great conversation piece. many friends garden or are in the process of doing gardening or fixing yards, so that's what is talked about. long gone are the days of chatting about non-sensical stuff. well, not really. i still talk nonsense pretty good.

on the gardening note, we received some nice rain last week and again friday and saturday, whichhas moistened the ground to the point where i've taken a shovel into the ground and it's come out with a shovel-full of soil that is heavy with wetness. perfect to start planting.

we're looking to plant more herbs, which i'm all for. in addition, dawn wants to move the green shurbs from up front off to one side. i'd like to see some rose bushes planted there. since it's by the wall of the porch, i'm envisioning some tall rose bushes growing, branches intertwining, perhaps pink and red, and forming a nice stage for the front of the house. i see it working.

also, in the section of yard where the trees are located near the street and sidewalk, we're going to take out grass, put up those black barrier plastic that prevents weeds from moving in, and adding plants around that area. it'll add great dimension to the front again.

the back yard will have work done, too. after removing some tree limbs that stretch over the back yard, we'll have more sunlight creeping in. we're probably going to move plants around and try for more plants, maybe some vegetables. i'm excited about this stuff. i'm such as geek for gardening.