Back in the Bogs

(Saturday’s sunset view of the pond.)

M and I are back in the Bogs where the ice and snow are melting, the sun has been shining, and the pussy willows and forsythia bushes are budding.  Spring may not be here yet, but it seems to be on its way.

We arrived home on Saturday evening after smooth and uneventful flights.  Being a woman with a fear of flying, I am always grateful for a smooth and uneventful flight.

I’ve been slowly going through all the photos I took and the first three are of the scene at the airport on the day we left for Florida.

What a difference a week makes!  I have to admit that although I wasn’t thrilled we’d have to fly through that snow storm, it was interesting (and kind of neat) watching them clear the runways at the airport that morning.

The last photo in the series is my favorite.  Up until you see the airplane, there’s no way to really know where the photos were taken.  It could have been a huge parking lot.

As lovely as Florida is, I’m glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed once again.  “Sleeping” is the key word in that sentence.  I had trouble sleeping while we were on vacation.  I’m not sure why.  The bed seemed ok.  I think I need another day/night or two and I’ll be recovered from the sleep deprivation.

I brought back more than some souveneirs from our trip.  Having sampled a little too much food and drink, I carried home some extra weight.  I gained back five of the pounds I lost before we left.  I was going to write “only” five pounds, but that’s a third of what I shed pre-trip.  Still, I’m going to think of it as a small setback and get myself back on track beginning today.

With the feeling that spring is on its way if not in the air, I’m thinking about spring cleaning and gardening.  The high temperatures this week are going to get up into the 50’s, almost warm enough to open a few windows and let in some fresh air.  Certainly warm enough for me to do a little work in the garden.  It’s time to cut down the asparagus ferns, before the new spears shoot up out of the ground.  This is year three for the asparagus, the year to harvest.  I’m looking forward to six weeks or so of fresh-from-my-garden asparagus.

I also need to give some thought to what I want to plant this year.  It’s time to get the seeds started.  I’m thinking peppers would be good.  Orange, yellow, and purple bell peppers are  expensive (especially this time of year).  The local farms grow green and red peppers so I can buy them cheaply enough once they are in season.  But nobody local grows the orange, yellow or purple peppers.  Or if they do, I haven’t found them yet.

Some kind of greens would be good, too.  Perhaps swiss chard.  I wasn’t entirely happy with the bok choy last year.  It had a bitterness to it I wasn’t expecting.  Of course I’ll grow mixed salad greens of some kind, too.  I love being able to walk out to the garden and pick the makings of a good salad.

Well, that’s about it from the Bogs for now.  Time for me to get started on the mountains of laundry we accumulated during our trip.

(Saturday’s sunrise — our last morning in Florida.)