Well, that was a first!

I've mentioned on Facebook how weird this month has been.  Waaay too much sunshine, waaay too much warmth, and waaay too much early growth and return of my feathered friends.  What the heck is up with that anyway?

Yesterday afternoon I checked my willow and forsythia branches for signs of budding, and was disappointed there were no fuzzy grey kitties, or sunny yellow blossoms.  However, I was encouraged to see the yellow blossomed plum at the corner of my morning room is just about ready to BURST.

Since it was so lovely, I spent quite a bit of time moving each and every dormant potted plant on my tiny patio, sweeping up the last of autumn's leaves (the ones my gardener's blower could not dislodge).  The earthy smell of the rotting leaves and starting of new soil was wonderful.  It even crept into the house, boy, did I breathe deeply.

The sun felt delightfully warm on my cheeks, and I could imagine the vitamin D seeping through my pores.  I used my broom and hand as a make shift dust pan and spread the leaves and soil across the top of my potted plants.  I discovered there were earthworms in the mixture as well, and I was happy to see my sweeping had not harmed them.

I stood back, leaned against my broom handle, and inspected my work, I was quite pleased with myself.  I was about to put the broom away and move on to some other chore, and thought...what the heck. Instead, I put the broom away, grabbed one of my plastic lawn chairs from the garage and drug it to the patio, there I used my sweatshirt sleeve to remove the dust and a couple of spiderwebs from the seat, and plopped myself into the chair.

Zorro immediately jumped into my lap.  I felt like a kid playing hooky from school. Here was a Norman Rockwell scene.  Old woman, dog, lawn chair and sun.  Well, that was a first!  I've lived here over forty years and never, ever, not once have I been able to sit OUTSIDE, IN A SUMMER LAWN CHAIR, IN JANUARY.

What the heck is up with that anyway?