Spring has arrived in the high country of my heart!

Round-n-round I go....

     Reassessing the rules by Winter,
     Fall a time to reflect
     keep, hide, throw-away
     a time to review what Summer un-learnt
   
     but Spring is NEW!
     rebirth
     stretch -up...
          a yawning of restless spirit
     I can go for days and days and days and days on Winter's rest!
     And Winter's lists?
          don't forget to.....
          its probably best NOT to.....
          remember this when it comes round knocking....
          and always....never....try not to....
   
ssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHPPP!!!!!!

A SUCKING OF FRESH AIR AND
   AN ESCAPING OF WINTERS DUST
      CLUTTER OF MIND AND HEART AND
         AS THE FIRST RUSH OF WARM
            SUNNY SPRING AIR WAFTS THROUGH
               OPEN DOORS...
                  OPEN MINDS...
                     OPEN EYES AND EARS AND HEARTS AND....
   
     Another open bottle! Spring is to be celebrated!
     The coming lessons of Summer
     be they same or new, old or different,
     will tell of Spring's antsy energetic twitch,
     and Autumn's lessons up for review,
     and Winter's guidelines will be out the window once more.

S.

prima la primavera...

Well two weeks went by relatively quickly for Olde Scotty Boy.  What with all the bridge clubs, senior citizens meetings, early suppers, and falling asleep in the middle of Matlock and Murder,She Wrote, time just zooms towards the grave after 40.

Yeah RIGHT!

My birthday week was full of great fun, innocent fun, adult fun, sledding fun with visiting friends, late night drinks, dinners of all sorts (including a fabulous date-night of overpriced watered-down cocktails at Applebees!) art galleries, talking, talking, talking, and finally yesterday some two wheel exploring.  PERFECT!

For those of you who have not heard of it before - and I myself after so many years on bikes have never heard ANYTHING about it, Virgina is the place to be!  And like me, its just barely over the hill! (ZING!!!)  Both the number and length of the Rails-to-Trails networks in this tiny beautiful state are impressive, with the newest being a 480 mile off road epic (foreshadowing)!  I rode the Virginia Creeper Trail from Damascus to Abingdon, about 18 miles (one way) of old unused railroad grade path through the Blue Ridge Mountains.  An absolutely beautiful day that ended in me talking to a cool shop right on the trail about helping with their busy summer tourist season.  So much for not working seasonal jobs right?!

With the sun coming out strong, the prospects of a second job doing what I value in a cool new place, and Loni forgiving me for the winter respite in our sometimes turbulent, always rewarding relationship, things are looking pretty good.  Feeling very confident in my ability to make sound decisions.  Here's a splash of trailside poetry to start the spring....

Prima La Primavera.

The pungent smell of sweetgrass

as warm air drifts and drafts up from the hillside below.

Rhythmic rackety-clackle...

   klakety-tak, 

        klakety-tak, 

             klakety-tak...

of old trail trestle under tires,

the last desperate patches of snow 

wither 

into swelling creeks below.

The wind whisper-shouts of coming spring

as the last of winter's leaves rattle amongst the trees.

A soft grumble-mumble of gravel as I 

coass

       ssss

            ssss

                 sssssst 

through this sunny day.

S.