My Babies

This is April. When we lived in Florida we knew that the nice weather was over by the second week of April. No more cool fronts would blow through. No more mild weather when we could turn off the air conditioning and throw open the windows. Meanwhile in Chicago and the north, people would be exuberant with spring fever. That is what I have. I forgot the joy of springtime in Chicago. I forgot about the smells and the plants bursting out from their winter death. I am still waiting for my little ginkgo tree in the back yard to put forth something that looks like it survived the winter. I worry about it. What I don't have to worry about are the tulip and crocus bulbs I buried last fall. They have come through just fine, and as the crocus wane, I expect the tulips to pop. As for my little greenhouse in the basement, that pretty much worked out okay. I had a lot of sprouts come up, marigold and Nasturtium mostly, and I have now transplanted them in a large planter in the yard. Even the grass is growing and I figure I'll have to fire up the lawn mower soon. Ah, springtime in Chicago. It sure is great... but I do remember past Aprils up here in the north. It isn't going to freeze again, is it?