Author’s Blog 2-22-11

Spring Surprises

Everywhere I look there is a flower peeking out from the ground, a blossom on a tree, a bloom waiting to manifest. Even people are sparkling like something awaits them. I remember the old adage that people would become romantic in the spring and would begin to look for opportunities to date. It’s as if we naturally, like the blooms from the ground and on the trees, begin to unfurl from our winter hibernation and get ready to reunite with people, nature, the bees, the birds, the bugs, and all that’s natural.

I love the spring because of that authentic flow. I don’t like the unnatural preparation as much, though. My pond had been broken all winter. For months I have been pondering how I would fix the leak. Finally, on a 70-degree day I decided I would unearth the 12-foot hose that probably held the leak. Low and behold, there, where the connection was the weakest, in the place where the hoses had been merged initially, a flood of water gushed from the broken hose.  I cut off the old torn hose and merged some of the new hose back together. Burying the hose became a way of redecorating the garden. I decided I would use white rock this year.  It would be much easier to unearth in coming years if I had a problem.

When I finished fixing the problem, I turned on the pump and the waterfall. I love the sound  it makes. The Kio fish get excited and begin to swim proudly around the perimeter of the pond. There are about forty now as they have propagated year after year.  But soon the water stopped streaming and all the lights went out. I suddenly had another problem. A burnt fuse, it appeared; although, I had never had to change a fuse in this home. I’d lived here for 5 years. So, as un-electrical as I am, I put on my miner’s helmet with a light on the top and found the fuse-box, unmanned the bad fuse. I took a drive to Home Depot and replaced the bad fuse within minutes.

Okay, so spring isn’t about all good surprises, but even when strange things happen that you have to fix, count it all good. I learned where my fuse box was. I taught myself how to fix the leak. I trimmed back some trees and bushes while I was at it. And while I was at Home Depot, bought myself 4 new beautiful rose bushes.

Yeah, spring!