Forgive my impatience...

When it comes to the back side of an Ohio winter, I guess I'm like almost everyone else -- I want it to be over already. Not wanting to be judged as a cry baby or whiner, I just want sunshine, warmer temperatures and green fairways and soft greens.  I don't think that is too much to ask.  But then I see the problems people are having in the Western US with water rationing and cutbacks, I guess my "problems" seem really insignificant.  I guess I might seem a bit selfish comparing my "wants" with their "needs."  So forgive me.

Having thought about that for a while, I decided to take a walk around the yard tonight, just to get a better sense of appreciation for what I have been given.  I started out by the pond.  It seems that it is open and ready for business again.  As I walked out on the dock, a school of bass gathered around, kinda like they were saying "Thanks for doing what you could to keep us alive this winter."  Then again, it could have been their memory of me feeding them last year that brought them up to see what was going on.  Their greeting was rewarded as I just happened to have a bucket of fish food with me.  As I threw it out on the water, they swarmed around, devouring the food, churning up the water like a boiling cauldron.  Good top see you guys again.  Glad you made it.

Then I took a short ride in the truck and came upon this sunset.  The picture doesn't do it justice.

The sky was the lightest blue and the sun was ablaze.  A couple of minutes after taking this picture, it was gone.  It's almost like it was there for me for that couple of seconds and then off to make someone else take notice of God's beauty.  Again, forgive me for fussing about the end of winter taking so long.

One thing the Army taught me -- when you look one way and see something, you had better turn around and look the other way because there might be something you need to see there.  In those cases, it might have been the bad guys, but in this case, it was a full moon rising and there was a jet's contrail stretching across the sky, dividing the moon in half.  This, too, only lasted for a few minutes and it was moved on.

It was good that I had some time tonight to just look around.  In a lot of cases, time is all a lot of people my age have, and they fail to use it wisely. Instead of complaining about lingering cold days and rain, we should be glad to have the water and learn to appreciate the changes of seasons.  Each nice day is a gift.  We haven't earned it, we don't really deserve it.  It is a gift.  Enjoy it.   That's my goal for this year -- enjoy every day, taking nothing for granted.

I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. (Henry David Thoreau)

Hooah