Things Change

From days of rain to a day so clear your eyes hurt. Well, that's weather for you. I don't know why I fuss when things like weather appear to get stuck with the needle pointing to "lousy". In the first place, that's a pretty lopsided judgment to make—that rain is lousy and sunshine is wonderful. Actually, I love and appreciate them both, so what gives?

I think some needle deep inside me hangs up occasionally, pointing at lousy. Then I just look around and blame it on the nearest possibility. Like the weather.

But things are changing all the time, and if I could just unstick my own internal value monitor, I could avoid that gray, nasty, hopeless feeling that this (whatever "this" happens to be at the time) is just the way life will be forever. OK, maybe only for the foreseeable future, but when this happens, I'm not appreciating such distinctions.

Maybe I could remember this, instead: I went out to the rocky area beside the kitchen garden about a week ago to see how the new weed crop was going. That would be dandelions, plantain, wild violets, a few little ground-crawlers I haven't met yet, and some big dude that sports deep purple leaves all summer. That one was so pretty I actually watered it all last year, right along with the herbs.

But when I got out there, the only returners were the dandelions and violets. Where the little ground cover and plantain once shoved rocks aside were plants I've never seen there before. There are two huge docks, for example (a large critter that looks a lot like rhubard early on). And a bunch of smaller greenies; I have no idea at all what they are. The big purple dude? No sign of him yet, but there's nothing in his place, so I'm still hoping.

Then I started checking father afield. The front "yard", the back meadow, the hill from the driveway to the playing field; they are all home to plants that weren't there last year, at least not the way they are this. Wild chives and wild onions are really popular (we eat both). It's back to my plant book again to find out who else has joined the Bluestone Farm family.

Yep. Things are changing all the time. Enjoy whatever is under my nose right now, because sooner or later it will surely change. I just need to remember that.