It’s hard to make a decision. Today I stood in a greenhouse gazing at hundreds of pansies in every color imaginable. Matrix Yellow Purple Wing won out for this year. I love the contrast of deep purple and yellow, and as always, feel drawn to the flowers that resemble the face of a cat.
There is no other plant that better captures in flower form my feelings of spring.
I made two mistakes when I picked up a cat food crumb off the carpet. First, the crumb was not a crumb at all! As I neared the kitchen trash can the piece of kibble began to move. I looked at what I held in my palm and instinctively threw it on the floor, a stink bug. I picked the bug up with a tissue, wrapped it like a mummy, and deposited it in the trashcan.
What was my second mistake?
Stink bugs are detestable but also awesome at the same time; the indestructible insect somehow unwrapped itself and climbed out of the trash can. I didn’t make the same mistake. I threw the stinker away again and sealed the trash bag. Victory!
I don’t like stink bugs, but I love ladybird beetles. They also find their way into the house in the winter, but are welcome guests. I found one on my tomato sprouts and was so enamored I took a dozen photographs of her as she traversed the top of the party cups. Sweet!
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ~Charles Dickens
Beneath the blue skies of midweek it appeared March might come in cold, but beautiful and clear. I admired the migratory flock of birds dotting my neighbor’s tree. Host to an iridescent mix of grackles, red-wing blackbirds, cowbirds and starlings, the tree was the stage for a twittering cacophony of bird talk.
Unfortunately, winter has not reached its turning point, and March arrived wrapped in a mantle of snowfall. Regardless of its chilly start, I know warmer, radiant weather will eventually ensue and appease my winter-weary mood. March days will soon find me in my garden turning over the soil to once again welcome spring.
MINDING MY P'S WITH Q 