Well Played Spring

Ah, the spring tease in Oregon. It's always some fun stuff. I was looking out of the living room window two days ago, admiring the ornamental plum trees, bursting into full color. This had me loving the thought of spring just around the bend. I fall for it every year. I'm gullible that way.

In this part of Oregon, Mother Nature likes to play with us. She sits back and laughs as she brings a day or two of warming us with the rays of the sun. We bring out the sunglasses, put on some sun tan lotion, and spend time outdoors, breathing in that wonderful clean, fresh air, after spending far too many hours inside our homes. We plan around these days and opt to play hooky from work if possible to achieve the goals of activities in the sun. 

We may hit temps of 65 to 70 even in these late winter weeks. As we roll over to get sun on our stomachs as well as our backs, we notice the clouds have darkened. The sky is turning gray, the wind is cold and blowing over us. 

Rushing indoors to avoid the chill and pouring rain, we ask ourselves what just happened. That 70 degree day has just succumbed to Mother Nature's whims. Her laughter comes in the form of thunder, rolling across the skies in her sheer delight.

 She is happy watching us scramble and in knowing she foiled our plans to start early on that Oregon tan. Maybe it's her payback for being heartless to her? All the trash we dump instead of placing it into receptacles. The air pollution we spew into the environment daily, and not using wind power when its available. Lies about plastic being recycled, all the while it not being managed. There are solutions, but we don't use them. Instead, we continue with whatever options make us happiest. 

The ornamental plum blossoms shrivel to the cold and damp snowflakes covering its spring beauty now. Temps have dropped into the low 30's and we are on our way to chilly winter conditions again. Waking this morning, I heard "mom" snicker as I opened the door to walk the dog. She had given us the white stuff one more time. 

Terry woke me this morning, reporting that we had been dumped on again. That rain and snow mixture we have seen for the past two days developed into an actual snow that stuck. Shocked I was as I opened the door to let Jasper out to lift his leg. It was unbelievably cold. The wind made itself known by leaving my arms and legs bumpy with goosebumps as it chilled my body. 

My old man pup did not want to lift his leg. The love-hate relationship with winter continues, but this time we were left with some of the white precipitation, making our day a little more difficult to maneuver. 

Vehicles had to be uncovered before operating properly. Greenery peeked through the fallen snow. There were promises of that beautiful spring we envisioned for those two days before our dreams were taken over by the cold shoulder of winter again. Noticeable slick spots were visible in between the layer of white. Well played, Mother Nature. Well played. 

Large flakes fell, not looking as though they would stop any time soon. Our mother was definitely not playing around, at least for a while. Jasper lifted his leg, shook, and then turned to look at me as though he was saying, "You have got to be kidding me." He knew he had peed on that same piece of grass yesterday, but it was without the chilly white layer. 

My poor old man began to shiver as he slowly plodded back into the house. I had to giggle but did feel sorry for him a bit. Even for those few moments, he was chilled and shivering. Thoughts went directly to homeless people and fur babies without homes and those pets with homes who have been left outside to sleep at night. There are far too many in this country who can't afford heat. I pray, one day, all of that will change.  

I had to take this picture from the living room window since I cannot go outside, but you can at least make out that the roads were not too bad. Terry said he put the car into the "snow" mode and traveled slowly to get to work. 

It wasn't a major snowfall or anything, but it was enough to shock us after thinking that possibly our spring was here. I fall for it every year, believing that the warmth I crave could be on the horizon, and then BOOM! Snow, blizzard, horrible rainstorm. And that's just within the first 15 minutes. Something always mucks up the idea that spring is on its way. At least in this part of Oregon. 

I have always loved the phrase, "I enjoy summer in Oregon. Last year it fell on a Thursday." Just a bit of whining on a day I usually do not write posts, but I had to. I wanted this to be put into the blog as a memory in our lives. 

We had snow fall last year too. Poor Terry had to struggle to make peace with the white precipitation, as he is from Las Vegas and then lived in California for a few years. All that warmth and he moves here. Well, no more sun tan lotion for him!

I keep telling my man that last year's snow and this snow are considered a dusting. He sees any white on the ground and it is definitely beyond a "dusting" for him. I tease him as he mocks me for saying, "It's just a dusting," each time we see snow in the mornings, but truly, we will survive. We can rebuild. We will be okay. Bless his warm California/Nevada heart. Keep Muk Luks on the feet and march onward.

I'm ending this post here. Like I said, just wanting to put the memory in our blog. Hope all of you are safe, warm, and loved. Shine your light and shine it bright! Count those blessings and have an awesome, warm night. Hugs to all. Here's to warmer days!