Tag Archives: Spring

Thirteen Days Early / Nevada, USA / Are These the Ides of March?

Austin, Nevada. Yesterday. A Walk Through the Cemetery. The thorny branches covering the grave will burst into bloom this summer. I find that comforting.
These are the same type of wild roses. This is the June bloom in our yard.

The “Ides of March,” is day in the ancient Roman calendar that falls on March 15 and is associated with misfortune and doom. It became renowned as the date on which Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 bce and was further immortalized in the tragedy Julius Caesar by English dramatist William Shakespeare. In the play, a soothsayer warns Caesar to “beware the Ides of March.”                Ostberg, René. “Ides of March”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ides-of-March. Accessed 2 March 2025.

Yesterday, Austin, Nevada was bathed in sunshine and warm temperatures. Today Austin is buried in snow. It’s mostly awesome, not really a misfortune or doom, and we knew it was coming. Thank you, meteorologists!

Austin History, March 1, 2025
Austin Yesterday
Nearer My God To Thee, Nearer to Thee

We needed snow. We had a dry winter.

Today

As the snow continues . . .

Weather is life. No doubt this is the reason it is so often the topic of small talk. It’s life.

Weather is also death. I fear for our friend who left town just as the snow started, heading west on Highway 50 directly into its path.

And it affects all of us. Humans and nonhumans alike.

Here then is a tiny presentation of the weather in Austin, Nevada, USA, over a two-day period. Life and death. Ironic juxtaposition that the photos with elements of death are awash in sunshine? It was not intended. And that is telling.

It stopped snowing for a bit. But it’s starting again.

Whatever the weather where you are, I hope you are safe and always, always, rolling with the changes. Happy Spring–Soon!

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Filed under Nature, Seasons, Uncategorized, Winter

Smiling into Spring, and Writing, and Festivals

Spring comes in fits and starts in Wisconsin. We’ve had a few days hovering at 70 degrees (very few—technically, I don’t think two qualifies as a few), but mostly we’re back and forth right now between chill winds, dark clouds, rain, snow flurries, and the occasional embrace of golden warmth and showy display of nature that keeps us right where we need to be: alert and grateful, and ready to hit the Festival circuit. Wisconsonites thrive on festivals, which go on all summer long. The first comes Memorial Day Weekend: Nestle/Burlington’s Chocolate Fest. Happy Days are where you make them, here now, here then, and most definitely…Here Again!

Even the most curmurgeonliest of my river rat neighbors has a smile to share this time of year. The guy with the waist-length beard and the four broken down boats in his driveway, the lady smoker I haven’t seen since October with the two pit bull dogs, the suspicious teenager who usually ignores my friendly wave. Today they stand proud, noses lifted high. Smiling. The seasons will and do change, and nobody and nothin’ can take that away from us.

Writing is kind of that way. For me, anyhow. Sometimes it flows like the Fox River does right now, swelled up with all kinds of life and energy, bringing on something new. Other times it gets sluggish, muddy, stagnant—full of bugs. Right now, things are moving along. Change is good. Accept and embrace that, as we do in Wisconsin, and everything else gets a whole lot brighter. Happy Writing, and Happy Festival Season!bluelawn 001

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