Spring is on the schedule whether you are ready or not, so I took a holiday (Spring Break?) from blogging in order to get ready.
In early February 2011, twenty-four months ago, the jet streams must have shifted because the weather abruptly warmed here in the mountains and we have not had any real winter since. So even though I was late planting a fall cover crop on our kitchen garden, the rye and clover came up and grew fairly well in the relative warmth. On March 25th I took shovel and started turning the green under while the snow flew. The jet streams have shifted again I hope. Chilly but joyful because that is more like normal weather for the season than we have had for a while. The normal date of last frost here is around the 10th of May.
Spring also means digging out and organizing all of a years income and deductions for tax returns. Tax Season. Paying income tax is a privilege that T and I appreciate because we have had it both ways - and not because of a friendly tax code or tax loopholes or such. For twenty years or so (1964-1983) we didn't pay much income tax because we didn't have much income to speak of (low crop yields because of droughts, low crop prices because of export embargoes, high interest rates, and issues like that all took a toll). We didn't go hungry and we raised children with character but we would have rather paid income tax like we do now. So it is taxing but joyful.
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If you would like to see my collection of Carolina Lowcountry memories—"Magnolia Elegy: Place In the Edisto Fork," you can view the book trailer here, and see the book page here on the publisher's website. The book is also available from Amazon, B&N, and your independent local bookseller.
