Today has me smiling. No, it is not from the weather as it is cloudy and chilly. Nope, today feels like spring has a hold and summer is pushing. My irrigation guy came today and turned on the lawn irrigation system and the outside shower. Yesterday the front garden was mulched and looks beautiful. All the lilacs have bloomed and some white and purple flowers have also bloomed. I don’t know what they are but they are delicate flowers which seem to bow their heads to the sun. The lilies of the valley have flowered and have spread along the rough side of my driveway and into my backyard. They originally came from my mother’s house so every spring I am thankful for their arrival. I need to buy flower pots, my herbs and veggies, but I’ll wait until next week, until after the hubbub of the long weekend. Lots to do every spring.

Yesterday was a busy day. I bought food for man and beast: for one woman, two cats, a dog and birds. I also bought a new spawn buster feeder. My big spawn buster is missing a critical part, the round, green closer which also acts as a perch. I have checked the entire yard and didn’t find it. I suspect the red spawn stole it and has hidden it. I called the company this morning, and they are sending one right along, no charge. Later today I’ll fill the remaining feeders and put out the new one. I miss my birds.

The flamingo and gnome are still here in their winter quarters. They will be brought out when the deck is summer ready. I’ll play some music and we’ll have a small parade befitting the occasion. I’ll deck the flamingo in her Hawaiian outfit. It will be perfect. The gnome is wearing blue.

We always got out of school for the summer early in June, earlier than the public schools. I think the nuns were ready to get rid of us. The last day was always a half day. The days before it were for final tests and cleaning. We were a free workforce, and I remember we emptied our desks and washed them inside and out. The blackboard got washed. Bulletin boards were stripped and left empty. By the last day, nothing much was left to do. We got our report cards, and we were all promoted to the next grade. When that final bell went off, chaos ensued. There were no more lines of students walking two by two. The nuns stayed put in the rooms. No way were they going to take their chances with the screaming hoard of students running out the door and down the streets.