I can see for miles and miles

It has been a terrible winter here. Usually we are dry, cold, with a little bit of snow, frozen ground for many days but crystal clear skies at night where you are stunned and awed by the stars and brilliant cold but sunny days. Did I mention cold? This year it rained daily for two weeks and was overcast on the days it didn't rain. The last time I lived in weather like this was in Paradise, California. It rained 108 inches that last year. Paradise was, and still is unless someone moved it, above the Sacramento Valley just high enough to always be in the clouds. I thought often then of committing suicide like the characters do in the Illustrated Man, The Long Rain. Just tip my head back and drown. I felt if I didn't move fast enough I would be covered by moss and mildew.

When I moved to where I am now, I was enthralled with the wide open vistas. Even in winter the view was unlimited. Since the sun has come out again, my spirits have soared. Stress level down, energy level up. I suspect I have S.A.D. or the Winter Blues. Unfortunaltely in the winter I also get F.A.T. and B.I.T.C.H.Y. WIth my newfound enthusiasm, I ordered some overly ambitious gardening catalogues. When I excitedly told my husband my plans (plans for him actually) to construct raised planting beds and grow some herbs and vegetables, his reaction was "ummm yeah...I gotta take pictures of that". Well, he may be right and I will crap out before I get done. But ....hey don't rain on my parade. The sun is out.... wooo hooo.

Soon the fruit trees and lilacs will be budding out. The daffodils will be pushing their sunny faces through the dirt. The birds of spring will be returning to join the zillions of quail that we have been feeding all winter. Soon we can sit in the sun on our deck and enjoy the view. We can see for miles and miles.