SPELLING BEE

BY BEA WESTERBERG

April showers and non-plastic flowers

“April, dressed in all his trim, hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” William Shakespeare.

That should get us off to a cherry start to April. If nothing else, it could start a debate about April being a him or her month. Saying April rather than March really does make one feel that it is closer to spring. Hoping for a better time of the year looks like it has been around for ages.

Easter is a bit on the late side this year. The dates can range from March 22 to April 25. I did not double check but I am told that the last time Easter came on April 17 was in 1962. That wide range of dates can be a challenge to the Easter Bunny.

During Lent and up until Easter, it is almost impossible to eat out on Fridays without a reservation. The Wisconsin people seem to have their Fish Fry Fridays year around but in Minnesota the actual Lent season makes it a very popular thing to do here. People say they are going earlier and earlier to do a fish dinner and of course you know what that means. You probably will have to go even earlier! For people who can do a later dinner, going after the rush hours might be an answer. Do these places ever run out of fish? Also this time of year there is no lack of conversation as to who has the BEST fish. While part of it is the actual fish, I think a big part of it is checking what sides are included in the meal. A big thing for a lot of us also is if they have “Senior Fish”. That usually is a set amount of fish for senior people rather than an all you can eat thing.

The Retail Businesses always love a late holiday date as they have a longer time to sell things related to that event. Of course they don’t really need a later holiday date. They can just put things out way ahead of time and drive us crazy by not being able to buy a swim suit in August because we are almost over the back to school time and thinking Halloween products.

With that statement in mind, I will advise gardeners to be sure to start getting gardening items so you don’t run into sold out or shortage issues. Garden tools and equipment, fertilizer and soil are things that will keep until you need them. Don’t buy the actual plants as it is way too early for planting them out. Most of us don’t have the right green house systems to keep them until that time. If you are buying seeds, you should already have gotten things like peas and lettuce to plant out. Also your tomatoes and other tropicals should be under your indoor lights by now so they are ready for planting out around the end of May.

Be sure you have good indoor lighting so the plants are not reaching for the light and getting tall and thin. You most likely will have to trim and adjust moisture and lighting if that is happening. Any indoor starters will need at least a week of slow hardening off before being safe in outdoor elements. That time will come in the month of May for most plants. Right now that is at the bottom of the list of things to do.

The experts, who know how things grow, beg you to please not be out there raking those lawns before the grass greens up. The raking pulls up the dormant grass roots. Yes, I will admit it sure looks better and it gives the feeling of a job well done. Maybe for another timely message, replace those plastic flowers you have had out all winter with new 2022 ones. We all have “our thing” and having plastic flowers outside in winter time is one of my upsetting things. I am okay with winter arrangements that have winter appropriate plastics in them, but I sure feel sorry for those plastic mums and tulips in January.

Let’s hope we can all find the spirit of youth and enjoy it.