Hitchcock Versus The Groundhog

   ...Azure skies shone as the bright sun made everything sparkle.  It was making February in Ohio seem as though spring had already arrived with uncommonly mild weather.  What an odd winter we have had this year as everywhere around us was slammed  with snow and ice storms, as we hardly knew what happened around our protective bubble of weather.  Local lawnmowers have been tuning up in anticipation of the green grass season soon to come.  The groundhog was highly confused as he had no sun shining on his big day. ”You woke me up for this?!!!",  he seemed to say.  No shadow for Punxatawny Phil this year. Everyone other than Phil was of course thrilled.  In reality, I saw neighborhood groundhogs searching for food last week and slipping under my neighbor's porch.  Even the birds are a bit confused as to whether it is spring or not.  Last week I had an Alfred Hitchcock moment when the noise of large flocks of birds drew my attention to my kitchen window.  What I saw stunned me as I viewed starlings fully covering not only my backyard, but the yards of the next two neighboring houses.  Then suddenly the huge flock swooped up, filling the surrounding skies to move on elsewhere.  By no exaggeration there had to be five hundred or more black birds filling the sky.  When I looked out my front window, the trees all around the block were solid with all those perching birds.  Just as suddenly as before, they darkened the sky with their huge numbers of dark bird bodies as they all flew off to nearby parks.  It was certainly an eerie way to start my day...  

      Eager for gardening, I have been tenderly nursing my potted rosemary plants inside with the hope they will survive until I can place them outside.  Resisting the urge to obtain pots of  little green herbs, I have learned my gardening lesson.  Last year after buying no less than three basil plants, which I watched die before my eyes, I have every intention to bite the bullet, so to speak, and wait for sturdy plants to be available for spring gardening efforts.  It is now March.  The time change has happened and Ohio has continued its rollercoaster ride of weather changes.  Easter will soon be here and trees are budding.  The Great American Eclipse will also be happening on April 8th.  I mention this only because I have seen Akron area preparing with t-shirts and other merchandise readily commemorating the event.  Really?!!! That's your take-away on that occurence?!!!  The full eclipse will cross seven American cities named Nineveh.  If that isn't a sign calling the country to fast and pray, I don't know what more I can say.  I personally will be fating and praying on that day.  No doubt I will also be commenting on the eclipse after the fact in my April blog.  In the meantime, I am still in hibernation mode until then.  With a cup of tea and a cookie of choice, I hope to consider my goals for April.  Hmmm...looks like I will need to make another cookie run...