WINTER DOLDRUMS

Don't you hate this time of year? Seems like winter has drug on and I know we will have a few more months, complete with a few more snow storms. In Mexico and some parts of the southern US gardens are being planted and people are hoping for rain. I am so envious! Here in the northern climates the seed catalogs are in the mailboxes and we are just dreaming of what we are going to plant.

For those of you who have been in my back yard, you know it has become a jungle and definitely time to divide and conquer the plants. Every spring I watch the little shoots come up and think the beds really looks sparce. I am sure the whole garden is going to look really sickly. In reality, by June it is overgrown. It breaks my heart to destroy any of the plants and I keep telling people, to come over and adopt some plants. Hopefully a few will show up this year!

The pond and waterfall are alot of fun, but a whole lot of work. The last several years I have told myself that pond has to go, as I do not want to deal with fish or green slime. My neighbor, Debbie, says she loves to listen to the sound of the fountain in the pond when her window is open at night. Of course, in the spring, she is not wading around in rubber garden boots and vacuuming the decaying leaves off the bottom, or fishing out the little critters who did not know how to swim. This year the pond is coming out!

I want to go out with a cold beverage in had, sit on the swing, and listen to the sound of water over the sound of the traffic! So I have decided to cover up the pond, disassemble the water fall area and put in a simple, but noisy fountain. Now I just have to figure out what kind of fountain I want to do. I have the pumps and a variety of bits and pieces, so should be able to come up with something. Like interior design, it is time for a makeover of the yard. I have pictures and great memories, but it is time to move on to something new and less maintenace. This is the time of year to dream of the warm breezes and watching fireflies in the evening.

I am anxious to go out and play in the dirt!