Rainy Days in May

Living in Pennsylvania is always a treat when spring rolls around. This year was exceptional because we had a late spring with endless days of rain. As glossy raindrops drum against my dining room window again, I think of the farmers’ axiom, “Rain in May, a barn full of hay.”

Our flowering crab tree in bloom

In such a busy world, I’m thinking the Almighty sends down the rain to allow us time to slow down and take a breath. Rainy days are for dawdling. This is the time when we can enjoy our second cup of coffee, or we can peruse that tall stack of magazines or paperwork we’ve labeled, to be read.  We can listen to a favorite song, read a good book, and finish an art project or indoor chore that’s been bugging us for months. It’s also a great time to write without the guilt that outside tasks are awaiting us.

I often say I’m glad that humans can’t control the weather, because it reminds me who’s really in charge. It also teaches us to embrace the unpredictable, to be flexible, and to welcome change in our lives. For those who like to plan or follow a daily routine, inclement days remind us that deviations from our conventional days can be enjoyable… and maybe, just maybe, there might be a rainbow as an added bonus.

What do you like to do on a rainy day?

                             A GENTLE REMINDER:

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Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyAnnDavis4 
Twitter ID:  JudyAnnDavis4 
Blog Link: “A Writer’s Revelations” ~  http://judyanndavis.blogspot.com/ 
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Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4353662.Judy_Ann_Davis 
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Fiddleheads are Finally Popping

You can’t tell by the weather in rainy cold Central Pennsylvania, but there are signs that spring may be late—but is just around the corner. There are buds on the lilacs, the daffodils and grape hyacinths have bloomed, the lawns are becoming lush, the birds are singing, and the fiddleheads are popping up. You can always depend on the ferns to make you believe that the color green is just about to explode all over the countryside.

It’s believed the first ferns appeared in fossil records 360 million years ago in the Devonian period, but many of the current species didn’t appear until roughly 145 million years ago in the early Cretaceous period, after flowering plants came to dominate many environments. Throughout history, ferns have been popular in medicine, art, mythology, landscaping, flower design and more.

Ferns do not have seeds or flowers, but reproduce by spores. There are about 12,000 varieties  worldwide, and fern is derived from Old English fear, meaning “fern,” a type of leafy plant. Flower and plant names were popular in the 19th century and the name was first used then.

For various cultures, the fern is thought to symbolize discretion, confidence, fascination, reverie, the secret bond of love, and magic.

I’m hoping my fiddleheads are magical. I’m hoping they’ll grow fast and tall.

And I’m hoping they’ll finally usher in a warm, colorful spring.

 
Amazon Author Page:https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyAnnDavis4 

Twitter ID:  JudyAnnDavis4 

Blog Link: “A Writer’s Revelations” ~  http://judyanndavis.blogspot.com/ 

Website: http://www.judyanndavis.com/ 

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4353662.Judy_Ann_Davis 

Yahoo Groups:  wrppromo@yahoogroups.com and ahachat@yahoogroups.com and pennwriters@yahoogroups.com

Groundhogs Day - Is Winter Ending?

February 2nd is Groundhogs Day and an all-important celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, as well as around the United States. It’s based on the idea of a groundhog, also called a woodchuck, emerging from its hibernation to predict the weather. If the groundhog sees its shadow and returns to its burrow, there will be six more weeks of winter. But, if the animal does not see its shadow, then spring is right around the corner.

In Pennsylvania, where the annual ceremony is held, the natives and townfolk know the famous furry fellow as “Punxsutawney Phil.” And Phil doesn’t live in the ceremonial stump on Gobler’s Knob where he emerges, but in Phil’s Burrow which is an indoor structure next to the library resembling a natural habitat where he dines on corn on the cob, carrots, celery, lettuce and kale, and granola bars. The latter is used to keep his ever-growing front teeth from getting too long.

Also known as the whistle pig, the groundhog is actually a member of the squirrel family. They are slow, lumbering runners and when they sense danger head for their dens which are tunnels in the ground. They are covered with two coats of fur: a dense grey undercoat and a longer coat of banded guard hairs giving them their distinctive "frosted" appearance. The young groundhogs are often called chucklings.

The primary predators of groundhogs are hawks, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, dogs, bears, eagles, and humans. And, let’s not forget the automobile. Although groundhogs rarely come in contact with humans, they are capable of are capable of carrying fleas, ticks and rabies.

Groundhogs are among the few mammals that enter into true hibernation starting the end of October and until late February. They are strict herbivores. In the wild, they eat a variety of vegetables including soybeans, beans, peas, carrot tops, alfalfa and grasses. They prefer to burrow nearby where they feed—in fields, pastures, along fences, roadsides, and near building foundations, and bases of trees. For the farmers and gardeners, groundhogs are a nuisance and the holes they make in fields often result in damage to equipment. Foundations to building are often compromised; and these critters have been known to cause electrical outages from gnawing on underground wires.

But despite his ability to be a nuisance, every year since 1887, thousands of people gather in Punxsutawney on February 2^nd to await the prediction of spring. He is so popular that in 1995, Phil flew to Chicago for a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired on Groundhog Day of that year.

So let’s have some fun. Will it be an early spring…or six more weeks of winter? Only Phil…and maybe the weatherman, knows for sure.