When it decides to green up around here, it sure does a good job.
This time of year is my favorite. I love it so much I don’t mind the ticks.
(Like, I mean, lots of ticks.
Like, I had so many I had to strip off my clothes and put them outside. Like, I won’t tell you how many because you would never sleep again and also, I had one stuck on my butt and that was one of those conversations you don’t really want to have with your husband, but, well, let’s forget I ever mentioned it.
And while we’re at it let’s also forget that I found a tick in my bed last night…)
Annnyywaaayyy… ticks or no ticks, there’s something to be said about being the first one out there to find a patch of sweet peas.
There’s something so new and refreshing about it all, the green grass poking up out of the ground before the weeds and brush take over.
The fresh air before all the bugs wake up.
The smell of rain coming in.
The damp dirt and the birds and all of the sounds and smells of things coming back to life.
I feel like I’m coming back to life.
So I make it a point to go out in it. In the middle of the long, cold winters those are the promises we make to ourselves: If it ever gets above freezing we will not complain about the weather.
We live here and we endure this because this is what we’re promised. We’re promised the greening up. And the process couldn’t possibly be as beautiful, as spiritual and soul reviving if we didn’t fully understand what cold feels like.
Yes. We know cold.
And endless white.
And to know the white is to truly know the green.
And all the life that comes with it…
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... 
I have a woodsy backyard and I’m dealing with ticks, too! My hairdresser found one and plucked it off my scalp! Embarrassing! But, it’s beautiful out. We are going away for the weekend and going to do a tick and flea bomb the house while we’re out. I am getting flea and tick spray for our doggie, too.
eeeeekkk ticks! But how true – the splendor in the grass and of the grass makes up for those little pesky ones! ~Karen~
We have ticks here, but fortunately not a lot of them in our immediate area. I’ve read some people have tried various combinations of citronella, eucalyptus and lemon grass oil in a carrier solution that can be sprayed onto pant legs and clothing with some success.
The ticks are obnoxious and I was hoping they would not survive the bitter cold in such prolific numbers. (I’m in Illinois.) Your blog today (ticks aside) is very spiritual! Beautiful.
People who live on the northern prairies really appreciate the spring changes and summer. All the green and any flower is met with awe. It was a magical time!
I can’t believe how bad the ticks are out your way. Great photos.
I love working in my garden, smelling the soil and plants and watching the bees.
I think North/South Dakotans truly appreciate the other seasons so much because winter is so so so long.
Julie, I also love the green, the leaves coming out on the trees. In Lankin on our property, my corner tree is a linden/bass not an ash, lucky me! I learned how to operate our new riding mower. I got told I needed to mow all the same direction, (WHAT EVER DAN) heck I was glad I didn’t crash or hit anything. It’s nice but not as nice as the Torro I drove in 1997. That was the last time I road one.
Sorta comes back to you like a bike, ha ha.