Sunny days are here again…

Having a little difficulty organizing these photos...

(Lower Left) The shaggy grass after the spring rain.

(Upper Left) Ahhh... much better—check out those lines!

(Upper Right) Gato, the coolest cat in the world, likes to watch the mowing action through the screen door.


“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven.” —Ecclesiastes 3:1
(and Pete Seeger, too)

The sun is out, it’s 73 degrees, and I’m doing a little happy dance. As a native southern Californian transplanted to the Midwest, I miss the beach—but more than that, I miss year-round sunshine. Granted, it wasn’t sunny every day back in OC, but I’m quite sure my vitamin D level never took a dive. Now don’t get me wrong, the Wizard of Oz effect of watching the world go from black-and-white to Technicolor as winter turns to spring is something I’d never experienced in my pre-KC days—and, after fourteen years, it still amazes me. The first winter we lived here I was positive the wooded area behind our house had suffered some kind of horrible blight and each of the trees had seen its last green leaf. Watching that forest come back to life as March gave way to April, filled me with childlike wonder, hope and anticipation. I felt a closeness to and appreciation of nature that I never had before. And it happens every year.

Yep, I miss those sunny warm California days when winter casts its frigid pall over the heartland, but I know if I were to return to the west coast I’d miss the changing of the seasons even more. I was inspired to write this because we’ve just endured seemingly endless days of springtime rain. Now? Time to go home and mow that way-too-long-because-it-was-too-wet-to-cut lawn.