The Month of April

My daughter Mary who is now fifty years old.

April is . . .

               April is ephemeral spring beauties peeking

                           through worn out leaves.

               It’s backyard birds competing

                           in a choral contest

               And rain and squishy mud underfoot

               April is daffodils and narcissus competing

                           to produce the first bloom.

               It’s red-winged blackbirds swaying

                           on cattails by the pond

               And proliferating potholes.

               April is a school playground of discarded jackets

                           like a disordered rummage sale.

               It’s running sap, running ponies,

                           running noses

               And the return of phoebes and spring peepers.

               April is bright crocuses dancing

                           through the gardens.

               It’s that late order for seeds sent

                           to Pinetree Gardens

               And rubber boots as a fashion statement.

               April is Canada geese abandoning V formations

                           to fly in couples.

               It’s multiple motorcycles roaring                                                                                                                    down the road            

               And digging out rakes, pruners, and garden gloves.

               April is raccoons, possums, and skunks

                           littering the highways.

               It’s new green and the yellow of forsythia

                           April is warm air, new hope, cheerful smiles

               And snow covering daffodils.

A pussy willow tree by my barn.

April is all of those things in my poem and Easter, too, as well as April Fools’ Day something kids love and third grade teachers. After the crazy March we had around here, I only hope there are very few April showers. We had enough of those in March to keep the ground saturated for months. So I’m looking for a sunnier and warmer April than we had in March although there were strange days in March that even got up to seventy degrees and a few days later went down to below twenty degrees.

I was told it will be a collection piece.

In March four people I knew died, and I went to three funerals in three weeks, two in one week.

In March I finally got a cover for my 8^th book after waiting over a month for it. Unfortunately, my step-granddaughter misspelled the name Phyllis on the cover, and I didn’t notice it until I ordered 25 copies of the book. I’m hoping she’ll soon correct that so I can change it.

In April I hope to finish book nine that I started while waiting for the cover of book eight.

In April I’m looking forward to Easter at my sister’s house where my only contribution will be pickles and olives.  Elaine loves to cook and is very good at it. I only cook when absolutely necessary anymore, and that’s usually something I can eat for three or four days. I figure after all the years of cooking for others it’s okay to cut back on that. I will be taking potted flowers for everyone.

This is just a very small amount of my branches.

In April I will be busy cleaning up the huge amount of branches small, big and huge from the area all around my house. They came down from the very strong winds that hit our area numerous times in March. I also need to start cleaning up my many gardens around the house.

In April I’ll be going one Sunday to St. William’s card party. There will be enough prizes for everyone attending and lots of good food to eat. I’ll be having fun playing cards with a friend, cousin, and sister-in-law. I miss playing cards since half of the friends I played cards with have died.

The Happy Days Lodge was built years ago.

In April I’ll be going to a folk concert at Happy Days Lodge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park with my good friend and fellow folk music lover, Dianne.

In April I have at least one birthday party I’ll be attending. It’s for my one year old great-grandson Santino. I may hear of more, but that’s all for now.

My pony Pufffy grazing by my blueberry bushes in bloom.

In April some of the flowering trees and bushes will start blooming.

In April I’m hoping I can get many more walks in my woods than I was able to get for the past few months because of the weather.

But what I’m looking forward to most is the end of April when I’ll be attending my tenth Malice Domestic Conference for the tenth year.  I’ll again be a moderator for Murder Small Town, and I’m already reading the books of my panelists and enjoying them.

What do you like about April?