Spring 2012 so far

This has been a long, long spring, and we've had lots more time to play in the gentle sun than we usually get in a typical spring.  This morning I was thinking about how the 15th was the safe date to plant out things that can't handle frost, but we haven't had a hard frost here on the hill since mid-February.  The constant winds up here helped with that on the rare nights when frost threatened, but mostly we've had a surreal winter and spring.
At the same time, as I was thinking about what odds and ends need to be done before the Jul/Aug issue of The Essential Herbal Magazine can be put together for print, I was feeling a little sorry for myself.  A couple of weeks ago I had some needed surgery, and was fretting about missing out on spring.  Then I gave myself a little kick in the pants!  4 months of spectacular spring, and I'm whining about missing a few weeks.
The best way to get over any residual self-pity is to count blessings.  It may sound trite, but it really is a valuable life skill.
So I started thinking about all the fun things we made during classes in the early spring, some of the talks we gave that turned into catalysts for projects at home, the swap I jumped into at the last second, the test batches of elderberry candy for an article I'm submitting to another publication, the sheets upstairs that are already covered with anise hyssop and violets to dry, and the syrups and vinegars I got to make already.  I got to distill some white sage, play around with bear grease and cottonwood buds, and make a wild mushroom tincture.  Watching the plants burst from the earth, send out leaves, blossom and begin to fruit has been a rare joy.
Seriously, a typical spring filled with faires, classes, and talks to groups never gives me the kind of time to play that landed in my lap this year.  This has been a spring filled with all sorts of fascinating herb work.
Big deal, the weeds get another week to grow before I'm allowed to do battle with them.  I'll be too busy on the magazine anyhow.
Counting blessings put me back on track today.  And that's another blessing.