Spring Has Arrived
Posted in Personal Stuff by John E. Pannell on March 14th, 2007 at 12:08 am 
This is what folks on another forum I read would call a “vanity post”: generally off-topic and about myself…
After a rather odd winter — a warm January followed a chilly February, and no ice storms of note — Spring seems to have arrived on cue here in the Piedmont of North Carolina.
Like around the rest of our nation, interest in college basketball heats up. Except we here in North Carolina are “blessed” with the ACC, whose tournament the Tarheels won this year. I’m hoping UNC’s Tarheels can prevail again, and win a national championship on this the 25th and 50th anniversaries of previous champion ship teams.
I comment to my friends who are not from around here, that I live in one of the few parts of the country where the seasons actually follow what the calendar says. Each season comes and goes in its turn. Spring is my favorite season of the year. It is a season of rebirth and hope. It is a time of pleasant weather, warm sunshine and refreshing rains, when nature puts on its best show of the year.
My cat is eager to patronize the “avian all-you-can-eat buffet” outside my dining room window. He expresses his displeasure of my denying him the indulgence of his feline instincts.
Those who know me, know I have some rather eclectic interests, not too typical for the bachelor I am. One of them is gardening. Friends joke about all the time I spend “digging holes” in the yard. One of the court arts that Samurai had to learn was flower arranging, so it’s not too strange that I like gardening. 
I enjoy watching the seasons unfurl in my yard, as all sorts of plants grow and bloom. Since Spring is so long here, I have lots to watch. It all starts with the winter Camelias in February; then moves on to the Spring bulbs, forsythias and pears; the dogwoods and azaleas spice up April. The grandiflora Southern Magnolias cap off Spring here in June. Add in all the various “non-flowering” plants and by late April cars turn yellow and pollen forms little balls like “dust bunnies”. Spring here is a pleasure for plant lovers, but can be misery for those allergic to pollen.
I’ve peppered this post with a couple of images from my yard.
Our lodge’s Spring Fellowship is this weekend. We may actually see pleasant weather this year, even if cooler than what it has been the last few days here! Past fellowships have suffered from reminders that this is still Winter, by the calendar. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Occoneechee lodge also has a function this weekend. So, next week I should have news of at least two more events issues from North Carolina
You must be kidding when you say that “the seasons actually follow what the calendar says” around here. Winter barely exists at all. Spring starts well before the first day of spring and is over by the first of May, when the five-month-long summer begins.
Nope…
Half our lodge fellowships have been curtailed because of snow and ice… in March. My first year in this house I took pictures of snow… in APRIL.
For me, May is usually still quite pleasant: warm, but pleasant.
November and most of December is still Fall. I like Winters with just a bit of cold, and cold rain instead of Lake Ontario snow squalls.