This Just In — Yesterday I opened the door to my car (which had been sitting undisturbed for a day or two) and the expected cloud of ragweed pollen enveloped me. This time, for real, Spring is here.
The airborne stuff of this season is particularly brutal this year for lack of rain. When a breeze comes up, it’s like being inside a snow globe, without the wintry charm of all things frozen. No icy branches. No kids sledding. No cabin with a puff of smoke from a cozy fire.
None of those things. Just sneezing. So much sneezing.
Mr. Waller has opened his strawberry farm on the edge of Orange County. I’m looking forward to going picking with the grandkids. A few weeks ago, he posted a cool video as he sprayed water on his plants to protect them during a late freeze overnight. As he sprayed into the air, it looked like a snow flurry as the water attached to the clouds of pollen. Again, like a snow globe, but with strawberries!
We’ve planted some new azaleas in the yard. When I say “we” I mean “my husband,” but I helped very slightly. These signature southern plants used to be all over our yard. Hurricane Fran seemed to kill off several. We’ve attempted to repopulate, with only scattered success.
One thing I can say in favor of azaleas is that the deer, who eel to love our little patch out here, don’t like to eat them. So I get flowers once a year (maybe more from one variety we’re trying) and no salad for Bambi. #ForTheWin
I enjoy hostas quite a bit. They’re little or no maintenance and provide lovely green ground cover. Apparently the deer find them to be quite delicious, requiring no croutons for their salad. The minute they’re up out of the ground, chomp! I thought they might be discouraged by the fact of the plants being right at the edge of the house — very close to humans. Wrong! No more attempts there.
The same for many many of the annuals that I used to enjoy. Petunias, marigolds, pansies … I can admire them for about a week after planting, then one morning, they’re all gone.
The other day, I went out my back door to find six deer rummaging through the leaves for their morning snack. The great amusement for me was that my two-year-old dog, Widget, came out with me. He has a fenced-in area out back.
The barking commenced immediately. No response. He raced down the steps from the deck to the yard and streaked over to the edge of the fencing, nearly nose to nose with one of the deer. She barely acknowledged him, knowing that he cannot get near her and will not challenge her enjoyment of acorns and other treats.
Sorry, Widget. They’ve got you on this one.
For all these adventures, I am grateful to see another Spring. I asked my grandkids what they thought all those birds were saying as they chirped constantly. They’re answer was smarter than my question (I’m getting used to that). “Let’s make more birds,” they said.
That’s the work of Springtime — rebirth and the promise of new growth. We need that on every level. The renewal of Spring and the promise of that special shade of new green leaves and another season … that’s what carries us through those crappy winter days when that mischievous groundhog’s February Fakeout is wearing thin. Another freeze. Another power outage. Cold nights and early darkness — they all give way to the life force of bulbs bursting out of the ground and birds singing about making more birds.
Thanks to the miracle of non-drowsy antihistamine, I’m starting to really enjoy it. They say it will rain this weekend. I’m thinking of washing my car tomorrow just to make sure.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – [email protected] and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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This Just In: Spring! No, Really! Chapelboro.com.
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