Early spring in the deep south is much like most of summer in much of the rest of the country. Warm days that peak in the mid - upper 80s, evenings that still dip into the 40*s on occasion, and violent thunderstorms. And this first full week of spring in south Louisiana? Yes, we've seen it all.
We need the rain, don't get me wrong, but it would be so nice to enjoy a gentle sprinkle rather than a deluge with lightning and house-rattling thunder. The chair in which I was sitting last evening was literally shaking when the thunder, well, thundered. Since we've not had rain in several weeks, there was not much standing, even this morning after two nights of torrential rains, but Choco's play pen (i.e. the back yard) was indeed a mud pit.
The biggest problem with our spring weather this year is that I waited too long to work on my veggie bed! I have been so busy with school functions and my jewelry business that I have had very little time to dig and weed and ready the bed for the spring planting. Sure, the seedlings are more than ready to go in the ground, but the bed is not quite ready yet.
Another sign of early spring is sports. My beloved Tigers and Lady Tigers both made the big March Madness dance, but both were eliminated after the second round. Outside, there's not an empty baseball field ... from pee wees to the colleges to the minors, Louisiana baseball is in full swing!
But the best sign of spring is that I am planning for another trip! Spring Break is the week after Easter this year, and Drew and I will be heading somewhere fun, as usual. The past few years have brought us out west, to the sandy deserts of Big Bend, to Guadalupe and Carlsbad, to the Grand Canyon, but this year will find us with a different kind of sand. This year we will go to Florida! Four nights camping in Pensacola, and then four nights at a condo near Seaside. Oh yes, we will certainly enjoy the powdery sands and warm waters of the Emerald Coast.
Soon, the days will get even warmer, the nights will be hot and humid, and then it will be that season we call "summer" ... and it may even happen before June 21st.
