A is for April

I can’t believe that the A to Z Challenge is upon me already.  And, as usual, I find myself woefully unprepared for it.  Not that I haven’t been thinking about it.  I have!  I just haven’t settled on a theme that I like well enough to write 26 blogs about.

I have entertained an array of topics:  recipes, TV shows, movies, songs… the usual suspects.  And have rejected them all.  None seem at all right. 

So my first A to Z Challenge topic is simply April. 

It’s not my favourite month.  April, along with its predecessor, March, are the kind of months were one finds one’s self in a sort of activity limbo.  The weather is unpredictable; not winter, but not spring.  There is a lot of waiting going on, waiting for the snow to melt and the temperature to stabilize.  Waiting for the right time to replace the winter tires with All-seasons.  Waiting to feel confident enough to put away the snow shovels and blowers and get out the rakes and lawn mowers.  Waiting to get the summer clothes of the back of the closet and put the winter clothes in their place.   It’s often very cold in the morning, causing one to don mittens and ear muffs, which, by mid-afternoon, become a bothersome nuisance then having to be packed back home in pockets or purses.  More mittens and such get lost in these seasonless days than any other time. 

As Aprils go, this one is starting out on a decidedly good note.  It’s warm (+3), the sun is shining and the wind is calm.  March went out like a lamb, and April had begun just has gently, whispering promises of Spring to come.  Geese are making their way back up North, their cheerful honking filling the air as they fly by.  The snow is receding, like a slow-motion tide revealing the detritus of autumn not gathered before winter blanketed it in a thick white cloak.  Thoughts are turning to gardens and the joys of being outside with the warm sun on one’s back.  BBQ’s are being un-covered.  Running shoes are replacing boots.  Bicycles are finding their way out of sheds.  And the complaints about the weather are in transition.  For now people are appreciating the new warmth as they gear up to grouse about the rain and the heat that is sure to follow.

It’s good to have a challenge while I wait for all this waiting to be done.  I just hope that I can meet it!  Suddenly the alphabet seems very long and in these early hours of the day my muse seems rather more reluctant than I had hoped.  “What,” she asks, “were you thinking!?” 

Well, right now I’m thinking that it’s time to get dressed and maybe head out for a walk.  It’s a glorious day and a little fresh air and sunshine seems to be in order.