The early bird gets the w

...wind up his tail. At least here! It's early in the day for me. I'm usually not even awake at this hour. However the man with the leaf blower which snarls like a logger's chainsaw went to work under our bedroom window about 8:15 and brought me from my dreams to shaky wakefulness.

On the plus side I think he cleared the leaves from my flower beds. On the negative side I think he cleared the emerging plants from my flower beds. Plants are tender and tentative when they first peek out after a long, cold winter. A leaf blower which directs 100 mph blast of wind at them and their surrounding leaf blanket, in which they are entangled, is not necessarily the best way to bring them on.

Outside the bedroom window

Besides, we've had snow all week. Can you believe it? Snow. It's been below freezing every night and the garden plants have stalled. They are no further ahead than last week at this time when I had purple crocuses and a single daffodil blooming.

I think the crocuses have closed up shop for the year, but the one daf is still out there shivering. The hopeful buds are beginning to look like the jilted lover who stands behind the curtains and prays to no one in particular, "Please, please, please…"

 Still, I'd only cleaned out the one bed, because it has rained or snowed since those few glorious days of sun and warmth we had a couple of weeks ago. So I've decided to view this morning's leaf-blower manufactured hurricane as a blessing. It saved me time and work, even if it has clipped a few plants in the bud.

There's a condo board meeting here tonight which means a fierce few hours of cleaning between now and then because our property manager is allergic to cats.  The cats will have to be confined to the bedroom for the duration, a confinement which they will protest with cat swear words and vigorous rattling of the door.

So I'm off, and that is not a reference to my mental state, I mean I'm off to clean house. I'm fine with the flowerbeds and their unexpected windstorm. Maybe I should droop around feeling poorly-done-by or be incensed by the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune but angst and I don't spend much time together any more. I'm going to go with unperturbed which surprises the heck out of me, and I have to admit I like it.