The poem above is from Mommy Goose Rhymes from the Mountains written by Mike Norris.
I think Mike captured spring in Appalachia perfectly. You think it’s warm, but the chill wind makes you quickly realize it’s not!
Yesterday was the official first day of Spring. I feel like I’m so behind in my gardening endeavors that I may never catch up. I’m secretly hoping the cold weather stays just a little bit longer so that I can have more time to do what needs to be done before Old Man Winter is gone for good.
Tipper
p.s. Rhymes from the Mountains CD is now available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Music, and a bunch more places online. Check it out on iTunes and listen to samples of the tracks here:
http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1160037010?ls=1&app=itunes
If you have the book without the CD, it’s really not complete, as the song, narration, and 40-plus minute conversation with Minnie are a key part of the project. (And physical CDs can be ordered from Amazon.)
Bookstore versions of the book may be ordered many places online, but Amazon and The University Press of Ky [it’s the university press of the whole state, not just UK] are two good sources.
It’s the wind that makes the difference for me. Lately we’ve had some very cold days (and more snow, even though I asked that it please go visit Tipper instead). With my woolen hat pulled low and my fleece neckwarmer pulled up, the unprotected swath from below my eyebrows to above my chin just HURTS from having the wind throw the cold right at it. Chores seem to take longer on windy days.
We’re a long way from gardening yet, but I’m already trying to whittle down my list of things to grow this year. Need to put a lot more effort into preserving things through the winter, so I’m planning accordingly.
Tipper,
Kate Smith, in 1939 made “God Bless America”. In my opinion, no one has done that good since. And in 1954, in Lexington, N.C. . Elvis Pressley and the Carters made an appearance for one dollar a ticket. How the handlers have changed the prices of tickets today! …Ken
There is nothing more rewarding than reading your blog each day. I look forward to reading what you have chosen to write about. Now the comments give lots more to ponder. Happy Spring to all readers!
75 degrees in Brevard, NC headed toward a high of 80 today! Spring is definitely here today, but there could still beca surprise in store for us.
Tipper” THANKS for all the posts! I accidentally found about Brenda Kay’s post from an earlier time. It was great to read about ALL of her Uncles and Aunts who lived next to our farm. All of her family was fantastic! Our families were ‘better off’ for being in such a beautiful setting.
Sincerely, Eva Nell Mull Wike, PhD
Tipper: I am so eager to get outside and stroll through the GARDENS OF EVA! But I will just be happy to watch the MANY birds fly around the feeders, which I have FILLED AGAIN!
Maybe APRIL will bring March flowers!
Eva Nell
I am a 60/40 man. That’s 60 in the day and 40 at night. Now that is without wind. If there’s much of a breeze that becomes 70/50 and so on. I look forward to spring because the humidity goes up and my dried, cracked old fingers can heal a bit.
It’s been warm enough here that I got outside for the better part of the last two days. I started to take off my shirt yesterday but then reconsidered. There are little kids in the neighborhood who might see me and run screaming, thinking they’d seen a ghost.
Tipper,
Back in the 80’s, I got a new 4 wheel drive and took it for a drive, just because I could. This was about the 5th of April and I went home to see if I could get there. There was 18″ of Snow on the ground when I got to my holler and I made it just fine. Was only a skiff here at the shop. Elevation makes all the difference in the world. Spring is a puzzling time of the year and I don’t think Winter is over just yet. …Ken
A fellow asked me yesterday, “Is it going to be cold or is it going to be warm?” I answered, “Yes.” He then said, “That’s probably the best answer I could get.”
The thermometer was reading low 70s yesterday, but I froze and complained about the weather all day. I went to the grocery store and saw young people dressed in t-shirts and shorts while I had a fleece jacket on. Mike Norris is right about the cold in the spring. March is the hardest month to get through if you are like me and itching to get outside.
Fun rhyme!
There is nothing as wonderful as spring in the mountains.
My forsythia has bloomed and my quince. The early daffodils are finished and now when the weather warms up I don’t have much to look forward to.
They say you can’t fool Mother Nature but I am worried about our fruit crops this year.
I love how the smells change with the seasons. So far it does not smell like spring. The Robins and cedar waxwings are attacking my euonymous {false holly} and will soon have the berries cleaned up. What a mess they make.
I will try to be patient for our real spring to arrive.
The coldest cold is low temps with high moisture in the air and strong winds. And that is a pretty good description of at least part of spring, more so than the fall when winter is approaching. It looks good from inside but the chill cuts right through outside.
Today is a spting fever day. Sixty-two degrees at daylight! Golly gee, that’s springtime.
Maybe I can help your garden anxiety. It has taken me years to learn but more important than air temperature is soil temperature at 4 to 8 inches. Warm-weather seeds and plants just sit until the soil temp gets right so though air temps make it seem like growing time is being lost it is not necessarily so.
Tipper, thanks for featuring the Mommy Goose: Rhymes from the Mountains poem today. It’s 49 degrees here in Lexington, Ky., right now, and that old blackberry wind is blowing.
There’s a new Amazon page that features Mommy Goose, Bright Blue Rooster, and Sonny the Monkey, as well as some live performance video of the songs “Tell Me, Mommy Goose” and “Barnyard Blues.” It’s at the following link:
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00DX56ST6
“To talk like your flock is no disgrace.
Just use the right word in the right place.”
–Mommy Goose
That’s cute as a button and so true the coldest cold is in the spring. I guess that’s because we are looking for warm weather!