Spring is finally here, bringing a lot of amazing things with it. The weather is finally becoming nice enough to open the windows to let the fresh air breeze through and the sun is shining for consecutive days again. I thought the winter was especially brutal this year, but that might have just been because I hadn't experienced one in a while. Day after day of gray, biting wind, layer upon layer of clothing (outside AND at the "office"), snow storms, ice storms, 5 degree weather and a month of no running water was a lot to handle.
But now it's nice and all I want to do is spend time outside. I was even getting pretty excited about mowing my lawn, which was a brand new responsibility to me, considering my parents always hired that task out when I was growing up. I bought what I'm now referring to as the Comanche Cottage in October and was able to get away with things beginning to go dormant at that time, so put off purchasing a lawn mower. I had way too many other expenses, anyway and my grandpa even offered a mower that had been used on his property when the weather was warm again. I borrowed a mower from a friend and he graciously helped me with the first season's cutting. Even though he did most of the yard, I thought to myself that this was going to be a serious chore! Every two weeks at the very least!? He tried to make me feel better by saying it was sort of a difficult mower. So when my grandparents came to visit last weekend and it was decided that I would be receiving a brand new, self-propelling, gasoline mower with mulching/side disposing/bag options, my excitement was restored. Grandpa even gave me a weed-eater and a tutorial. By the end of the afternoon, I was ready to open up my own lawn business.
Today was a particularly beautiful day, so I decided to give it a whirl, in preparation for a potluck I'm hosting on Sunday. The front yard went according to plan, although it still wasn't as fun as I had psyched it up for myself to be. The backyard is a somewhat different story. It has all these nooks and crannies (at least that's how it appears after trying to lug a 15 lb gas machine through it all). I tried to keep telling myself that it was just like vacuuming. I like vacuuming. And I like gardening. So it would only make sense that I'd like cutting my grass. But when I tried to turn the mower around in one of the crannies and it hit a concrete barrier and the motor stopped and decided not to begin again after I cussed and willed it too, I decided that I really didn't like it. And, with the weed-eater's cumbersome starting sequence and easily destroyed, but difficultly feeding thread mechanism, I began getting uncharacteristically upset. Such a silly thing to get upset about, in the grand scheme of things, I know! It made me feel powerless and helpless in my independent and organized world. So the machines were shoved back in the shed and I stormed into the house and pulled out my go-to empowerment tool but Roscoe's arch enemy- the vacuum. I guess everyone has their sore spots...
A few fun happenings:
Guestroom Records hosts the 3rd Annual Record Store Day. Support your local source for great music and entertainment by listening to live music and joining in on the fun at either the Norman or Oklahoma City stores.
Pick up a free tree at Reaves Park in Norman on Sunday, April 18th from noon-6pm, in celebration and preparation for Arbor Day, which takes place on April 30th this year.
Next weekend marks one of the most awesome reasons to live in Norman:
The Norman Music Festival. This year, for the first time, the completely free event spans two days and will host nearly 100 bands from around the country. I'm already coming up with my Excel spread sheet of not to be missed bands, including but not limited to Ghost of Monkshood, Brother Gruesome, Kite Flying Robot, Evangelicals, The Workweek, Native Lights, Gentle Ghost, Broncho, Depth and Current and even some on the Latin stage. Also, this year, Dustbowl Arts Market, the bountiful brainchild of a collaboration of friends, will be featured at the Festival. I signed up to volunteer at the Little Rocker's Kid Stage, which will include a puppet show from Balcum Rancum Puppetry and experiments from Science Museum Oklahoma. Hopefully I'll be contributing to some amazing punk-rock hairstyles and temporary tattoos.
Rocktown Climbing Gym will host their annual sport climbing competition on
April 24th. Pre-register to participate or volunteer for Superrock.
Oklahoma's Farmers Markets are in full swing. Pick up some delicious and mellifluous honey, fresh produce and herbs or grow your own from seeds or seedlings.
It's a great time to be in Oklahoma right now. Grab a friend and a Frisbee and get outside. You'll be swept away by the fabulous time you'll have, if not by the wind.
