Snowballs in April versus the Mad Whacker in May

Lilacs

Forget-me-nots

tPink Passion tulip

   ...Color, clarity,  cut, carat...wait, this wasn't diamonds I was looking at.   Three out of four,  not bad. Color, white not yellow, always a plus. Clarity,  definitely lightly wet and icy, perfect for packing. Cut, a perfect round hand-roll. Consistency, the substitute for carat weight. Each rounded missile was formed to perfection.  April's last snow produced the perfect snow for the Great Snowball fight. But wait, this was late April, for Pete's sake!  Somehow this is just wrong after having had such a  mild winter here in Ohio. ..                                                 
    Moving on to May, we are still on a rollercoaster ride as far as the  weather is concerned.   The trees are bursting with new leaves and delicate flowering blossoms.  Next door my neighbor's lilac bush is blooming.  How I love the old-fashioned fragrance of lilacs on the breeze.  Immediately I am transported to my great grandmother's home.  I can still remember Annie bringing in the intoxicating blooms to make lilac water and for household fragrance.  Chuckling to myself, I also remember that Annie always thought that orchid was an old ladies' color and therefore she refused to wear it. In the case of lilacs, I guess In her mind fragrance trumped color.                                                        
     With spring comes the many neighborhood critters who are finding their way out of their winter refuges. I mention the Squirrelzini family in particular.  Sounding like a troupe of scrambling tap dancers across the roof, one little Squirrelzini in particular found his way onto my window. Checking to see what my cats were so obsessed with,  i found the little guy somehow stuck between the screen and the window pane.  After shooing the cats out of the room and closing the door I began trying to free the trapped squirrel. After several unsuccessful maneuvers,  I ended up doing the one thing I had hoped to avoid. Opening  the window caused the little captive , who I named Timmy, to spring into the room.   Ever try to capture a crazed squirrel?  Well, this little guy was airborne most of the time he was he was in my computer room.   Finally he went flying out the window.  I tried to catch him in a towel to keep him from falling  to the first floor deck.   As he hung onto the screen screaming hysterically, every squirrel in Summit county was now on my roof trying to figure out how to help the baby. In the awkward tussle  Timmy finally let go of the screen and dropped onto the deck landing on all fours.  For a moment I watched to see if he survived the fall. Though momentarily stunned, he was alright and scampered away to the nearest tree. After that  I could hear much squirrel chattering as if somebody was to chewing out Timmy for going onto where there was no ledge on which to perch. I'd say Timmy is not yet ready to work without a net. When I related the Squirrelzini caper to a friend she laughed so hard that I suspect she may have peed her pants. I hope you fair better as you laugh at the current Squirrelzini adventure.
     With May comes the beginning of many herbal concoctions and the preparation of my gardening efforts.  Last week the yard guy came to mow for the first time this season.  Not being at home at the time, I later made the frustrating discovery that he had weed whacked the blazes out of my lavender plant. My original plan was to watch the lavender as it came back to life from the winter rest and to re-pot it.  Between the neighbor's dog lead tearing out the things I planted near the back porch and the Mad Whacker's frenzy, it looks as though I will have to put all my plants in containers this season.  
     So, okay spring, you can officially warm up now. Herb Lady is ready to start gardening.  Let the projects begin!