Thinking Green

We've had rain the past few days. Not like you get in the east where it pours buckets for hours on end, but we have had rain on and off. Enough to turn everything green.

This is the time of year when we like to see things turning green. The garden plot has been rototilled and is awaiting the installation of automatic drip system. No more losing plants because they don't get watered often enough. The back pasture which we seeded with Idaho Bunching Blue grass is looking pretty fine. The east pasture where the alfalfa is growing, is also turning a very nice shade of green.

I was thinking about this yesterday. Most of the time, our mountains and prairies are all different shades of brown (and purple--yes really purple). Even when we get lots of water, the natural plants turn on their own by July. So we really have a short window in which to look out our windows and see...green.

It's a very special time of year this "green" time. The old things have been blown away, the new green plants are fresh to look at (and smell). Even though the wind blows a lot it isn't that cold wind that blows through you and chills your bones. It is the frisky wind that blows around you and invites you out to play.

The horses love this time of year. They kick up their heals and gallop around the pastures at full speed. They show off by bucking and kicking, and leaping high (I saw Mercedes do a real live capriole the other day). The chickens are laying more eggs, their feathers are sleek as they cluck contentedly and dig for bugs in the fresh unfrozen soil.

The dogs are out chasing coyotes again--because the coyotes are active again. I've seen lots of bunnies, and the prairie dogs are thick this year.

All this rain, this beautiful rain, this beautiful "not snow", is bringing us more than May flowers, it's bringing us spring in all her green.