We celebrated the last week of winter in North Georgia with temperatures near 80 degrees, nearly 20 degrees above average.
But as I write this, on the first day of spring, the temperature is in the mid 50s, actually a few degrees below average.
Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?
The weather people has predicted this winter in Georgia was going to be colder and wetter than normal. Translated, that meant they expected more snow and ice than normal. Fortunately, the weather people blew that forecast, and I’m thankful for that because I don’t like snow. And the only ice I want to see is in my drink.
But the reality is that I don’t like winter at all, even on that is isn’t full of snow and ice. I was happy to see the first day of spring arrive, even if it was a little cool outside.
Spring is my favorite time of the year. It’s the season of rebirth.
Dormant all winter, trees have sprung back to life. Beautiful flowers are everywhere. The mornings are still cool, the afternoons gloriously warm. The days have gotten longer, so there’s more time be outside and enjoy the show Mother Nature puts on each spring.
Yet as much as I love spring, there are things about this season of the year that I cannot stand.
Pollen. It’s everywhere. My beautiful red car has taken on an orange-ish hue. There is already so much pollen this year, you can see it streaming across the sky when there’s a gust of wind.
For many of you, the allergies are kicking in. You’ve probably started wheezing and sniffling, with no end in sight.
It’s a cruel trick that Mother Nature plays on us. She makes spring so inviting and so beautiful that we just can wait to get outside and enjoy it. Of course, as soon as we do, our eyes start watering, our nose starts running and we start sneezing.
Fortunately, the tree pollen, which is prevalent now, doesn’t affect my sinuses, which is a good thing because I’m still recovering from a major bout of bronchitis.
My allergies kick in during May, when grasses start producing pollen. So my day is coming.
But, really, what are my other choices? I’ve thought about locking myself in an airtight, air-conditioned room from March until June, and I’ve considered digging up every blade of grass in town. But I kind of hate to go that far.
Thunderstorms. I hate them. I hate the loudness of thunder. I hate the flashing of lightning. I hate that thunderstorms sometimes bring with them hail and tornadoes.
I particularly hate thunderstorms at night, when I’m in bed trying to sleep and the lightning creates a strobe effect in my bedroom. Maybe I watched too many reruns of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” but I’m always afraid a vampire is going to step out of the darkness just as the lightning flashes and get me.
When it’s lightning at night, I always turn on a lamp and try to have a wooden stake nearby, just in case.
Fortunately, we haven’t had many thunderstorms yet this season. In fact, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky last week when I fixed myself a drink and sat out on the deck to enjoy the glorious view of Lake Lanier I have.
That’s when I was reminded of something else I don’t like about spring.
Mosquitoes.
