According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the spring season for 2018 is officially on the books between Tuesday, March 20 and Thursday, June 21. That differs from what meteorologists recognize, preferring a more convenient guide, use March 1- May 31 as their metric. Either way is fine, since most of us pay very little attention to the date itself, only truly believing spring is upon us when the time-change kicks in (all due respect to Punxsutawney Phil). Any list of 5 Outstanding Things That Arrive With Spring has to start and end with warming temperatures and outdoor activities.
#5- Boating Season and Time at the Lake
#4A- Baseball
The first thing you'll notice is that I've already started adding to our list of 5 Outstanding Things That Arrive With Spring. We now have a 4A and a 4B. This was not the original intent, however, there's a real struggle here to even get it down under 10, so you'll have to forgive the creative license. The first of our "4's" on the list is America's Pastime. I grew up with baseball. Played it on vacant lots growing up in Detroit, played organized baseball in high-school, and still watch or listen to my beloved Tigers to this day. Rhonda, on the other hand, hates it. She thinks it's boring to watch, certainly won't listen (apologies to Ernie Harwell), and has even less of a desire to venture to a ballpark. No disrespect to the home town Atlanta Braves and their cavalcade of legends (Aaron, Murphy, Chipper). I'll always be a Gehring,Kaline,and Justin Verlander kind of guy. The month of March always brings about renewed hope when pitchers and catchers report, no matter how terrible the previous season was, everyone's a contender on opening day.
#4B- Spring Rains Bring Color In Bloom
One of Rhonda's favorite things about spring is planting. Let's not confuse that with the actual labor required to maintain the flowers once they are in the ground, but the initial rollout of the flower process- that is her wheelhouse. Of the 5 Outstanding Things That Arrive With Spring, this is firmly at 4B due to the labor piece of the equation. I like working in the yard as much as my beautiful wife likes watching baseball. Now the 4A and 4B makes sense, doesn't it? I am the gardener in our house. I have zero decision making authority, but I swing a mean mini-shovel. The rub here is the pollen. Timing is everything when it comes to planting in the south. Usually peaking in early April in Georgia, this yellow wave of "dusty paint" covers everything in its path for about 2-weeks. One is tempted to just stay indoors for the duration. Barring this, hide your outdoor furniture, pray for rain to wash it away every few days, and get your plantings in the ground prior to the onslaught. If all goes well, you'll have beautiful blooms everywhere before summer and cuttings will grace every table and shelf inside and out. Follow the link here to see our full complement of bud vases and containers to hold that freshly cut spring color.
#3- Outdoor Concerts and Festivals
Nothing says warm weather and change of seasons like outdoor concerts and weekend festivals. Number 3 in our 5 Outstanding Things That Arrive With Spring, these outdoor gatherings are the quintessential use of Daylight Savings Time. I don't remember a weekend that, during warm-weather months, we didn't have planned events in and around Atlanta. This social calendar was built early in our dating relationship with countless concerts at Pine Knob in Detroit, enjoying the warm breezes and 1 or 2 adult beverages. We've instilled this same love of music outdoors with our girls...Kenny Chesney at Lakewood, Luke Bryan's Farm Tour, and Jason Aldean at Samford Stadium in Athens. Family, friends, and good music- staples in our world then and now. Local festivals are also on the radar once spring has found its home...wine tastings, oyster festivals, and county fairs all make the cut for great family time and outdoor fun. Find an event in your home town and head out with your blanket and chairs- it'll be time well spent.
#2- BBQ and Backyard Entertaining
At the end of a long work week, sometimes we just want to kick back and relax at home. After all, the biggest expense most of us have, is tied to our house, why shouldn't we actually enjoy it from time to time. The second highest rated of our 5 Outstanding Things That Arrive With Spring is BBQ and Backyard Entertaining. Our passion has always been to gather at home. Impromptu dinners for 4 or small weekend barbecues with 15 of our closest family and friends. Graduations, wedding rehearsals, and ringing in the New Year, all inclusive and worth the effort. rusted fence was really born out of this entertaining and idea factory that is my immeasurably better-half. We truly enjoy hanging out with our group and sharing good food and great libations. We grill, we play corn-hole, we make s'mores around the fire pit...all in the name of family and close friends. Decorating for our parties is an event in and of itself. Every table is just right, every candle displayed to perfection for form and function. Flowers and herbs are everywhere, carefully arranged in containers and vases. Conversation flows like the wine and a good time is had by all. There truly is no place like home.
#1- Easter
The single greatest of our 5 Outstanding Things That Arrive With Spring is hands-down, Easter! Let's start with the obvious...from a Christian perspective, the 40-days of Lent and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is pretty high-up on the ladder of what matters in life. Reflection of one's shortcomings is not uniquely religious, though, and it's observation is rooted deep in history, philosophy, as well as the Bible. A symbol of Jesus wandering and fasting in the desert until his death (Good Friday)and then rising again 3-days later on Easter Sunday. This is the time to renew your spirit and reset your personal commitments, clear out the old for the new. Spring cleaning is a yearly quest intrinsic of this need to reestablish our norm. It is not always fun, but a good cleaning of our house and home can cleanse the soul at the same time.
Easter is also the first official holiday of Spring and a signal that it's time to take the first break of the year. SPRING BREAK, specifically and so aptly named. This is a ritual of a completely different nature and one that is taken very seriously in our house as well. This renewing of spirit also has a long and hallowed history, mostly rooted in warm-weather cities going back some 50 years, on the sandy beaches of Florida and Alabama. Sometimes the "yankees" choose Spring Break in the balmy cities of Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, but 55 degrees is still considered winter in the south. Y'all can have it- we'll stick to the Panhandle, thank you very much. The pursuit of the ocean in our house is a constant and Spring Break is the opening day of our beach season. Spend some time with your family, get outside this spring, enjoy the weather.
Discover our 5 Outstanding Things That Arrive With Spring and then tell us what your list looks like. Subscribe to Simple. Inspired. Style. to get updates and join the rusted fence mailing list to be first in the loop for discounts and future promotions!
