Susan Says . . .

— We had a few warmer days last week but wintry weather persists. Still we are encouraged as we see the days growing longer and we know spring is less than a month away. The daffodil buds are about to burst into bloom and I’ve cleared away the old vegetation beside the garden shop and found glads a few inches tall. Tiny bluets were blooming under the old walnut tree Thursday afternoon, providing a foretaste of spring beauty to come.

Grey clouds spit flurries of snow most of the day Monday and the temperature stayed below freezing all day. Brisk winds made venturing outdoors rather disagreeable but roads were clear and school was in session so most places were conducting business as usual. But February, as Celestine Sibley remindsus in her book For All Seasons, “treats you a lot of lovely ways. If you are a sit-by-the-fire type, who loves to be indoors listening to music and reading, February’s your month. If you like walking in the rain, sloshing across little creeks, examining the earth in all its moods, February was made for you.”

I worked at the office Tuesday morning and took Mama for her checkup at the clinic that afternoon. While she was waiting for her lab work to be done I slipped out and visited a friend in the hospital nearby. Mama got a good report and when we returned home I found that the mail carrier had brought a lovely valentine from Aunt Mary complete with a long letter, several photos and clippings.

Jim went back to work at a house southwest of Maysville Wednesday morning while I stayed home with Mama. After breakfast I finished the book I’d been reading and took it to the library, then dropped by to do a little shopping at the grocery store. When Jim came home that evening we had a late supper, then watched the Hogs basketball game with South Carolina.

Thursday was our warmest day with sun shining most of the day. A cottontail rabbit bounded through the front yard, pausing beside the house near a concrete image of himself. Made me wish I had a camera handy to record the pair. I was nursinga cold so I stayed home all day and even took a nap in the afternoon.

I worked at the office all day on Friday since our editor went out of town. Jim sent me to the deli that evening for fried chicken but since it was almost gone I bought a medley of choices, chicken strips, frog legs and fish fillets. With side dishes of potato salad, coleslaw and fried okra they made a good supper as we watched coverage of the Olympic games.

I went to take our recyclable items to the collection trailer and pick up an Angel Food order before breakfast Saturday morning. The mail carrier brought a welcome letter from a friend in Florida and I enjoyed reading it before leaving for a quilt class gettogether that afternoon.We gathered at the home of Cleta Whitman for a delicious meal and a wide assortment of desserts. The house was still festively decorated for the holidays and we had fun with an ornament exchange. As we left our hostess handed us gift packets of chocolate walnut fudge.

Jim worked on our new gazebo while I was gone. Brother Richard called from the house he was roofing just across the tracks and soon showed up to join us for supper. I broiled sirloin steaks, baked potatoes and heated green peas. Dessert was some of sister Nancy’s homegrown butternut squash baked and topped with butter and brown sugar. After supper we listened to the Hogs game but were disappointed with the loss to Auburn.

Richard spent the night with us and rain was falling when we awoke Sunday morning. The field was already pretty wet from all our recent snows and he got his trailerload of shingles stuck when he tried to depart. Nancy came to the rescue and pulled him out. He soon took off, hoping to make it to church on time. Jim and I made a trip to Southwest City and enjoyed a late breakfast when we returned. Rain continued most of the day so we postponed a planned trip for supplies and stayed in watching sports coverage, reading and doing a couple of loads of laundry.

-Susan Holland

Susan Holland, who works for The News Herald, is a lifelong Benton County resident.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 02/24/2010