Come rain or come shine my goal this winter is to enjoy every cold snap, foggy morning and muddy puddle. I will relish peeling myself from the warm morning blankets and delight in seeing my breath when I step into the shower. I’ll buy rain gear and continue the enjoyment of riding my bike to work. I’ll wear cute hats and buy an umbrella that looks like a giant sunflower.
I complained incessantly about the incessant heat in June, July and August, and then again in September. If life had an annual limit on complaints about things for which we have no control, I would have reached the maximum.
If all goes well, the relief of cool weather will help get me through the dark days from now until the winter solstice. Spring starts early in Chico with the first almond blooms in February.
Today my main weather-related grievance is toward the overly-efficient leaf managers at the university campus.
Anina and I searched for leaves Tuesday during one of our fast breaks from our office building. We wanted a big pile of leaves to lie in. For the past few years we’ve taken photos while lying on the grass. With the camera at the end of an extended arm, we make giddy faces with a ginormous pile of leaves as our backdrop.
While not the goal, some day in the future we could string the images together for a time-lapse video to show what aging looks like.
Tuesday’s walk was pleasant of course, but the leaves were difficult to find. We scouted behind the burnt shell of the Bidwell Mansion, where the gingko trees dump their yellow leaves.
Gone.
There might be piles of mottled orange leaves in front of Kendall Hall, we speculated.
Swept.
We found a place with a few fresh leaves near Ayres Hall and the creek, but our photo backdrop was disappointing. We might need to digitally insert more leaves if we every get around to making that time-lapse video.
However, there were plenty of colorful leaves in the trees.
My prediction is that those will soon be gone. The forecast calls for nuttin’ but rain this weekend, then more through the next week. This will be the big test of my vow to cease all weather-related complaints.
Focus. Focus on the good.
On rainy days, my cat wants to snuggle on the couch. After a long soak of rain, the ground is perfect for yanking up the remnants of the ivy I tried and failed to pull last summer. Rainy season means we don’t need to wash the car. Warm sweaters hide most of the weight gain from Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
That’s what I call perfect weather.
Garden enthusiast Heather Hacking loves when you share what’s growing on. Reach out at sowtheregardencolumn@gmail.com, and snail mail at P.O. Box 5166, Chico CA 95927.
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