Signs of Spring...

Since it hit 60F today, and rain is forecasted for the weekend, I thought I better get out there and do some spring clean up. I raked out all the flower beds, and made nice big piles of dead leaves, twigs, etc for my dear hubby to pick up later. I'm sure he will be thrilled. :0)

Autumn Joy Sedum peaking up through the ground

I was wondering the whole time if maybe I was pushing it a bit, since we are still going to have some nights below 32F. When I removed the leaves, there were definitely signs of spring, and signs of some plants of having overwintered green. There was still a bit of ice under the deeper piles of leaves at ground level, but I'm sure by the end of the weekend that will be gone too.

There are alot of branches and twigs down this year. We had to snow blow twice as much as last year, so that tells you how much extra snow we got this year.

I enjoyed reading Scary's http://scaryswest.blogspot.com/ blog yesterday. She has some awesome pictures on her site, and it was neat to read about her Montana life on a ranch. I was telling my mother about it, and made the comment that that is what I'm doing in one of my parallel universe lives.

Now, I really don't actually believe in parallel universes, don't get me wrong. But theoretically speaking, I sometimes envision my life as it might have been if I had taken a different path.

For instance. I had horses growing up and in my early married life. I love horses, so I had entertained being in a life that revolved around them, such as show jumping, barrel racing, or living out west on a ranch. In another path I would have been a National Geographic photographer. I love taking pictures, love all of nature. Beautiful photos can move me to laughter or tears. In another more realistic path, but still unlikely, I would own a quilt shop. I suppose I'm still not too old for any one of these, but, I'm afraid I'm just not feeling that ambitious at this point in my life. Sigh.

I am glad of the path I did take, and love my husband very much. This really isn't about that. This is more about self developement. With no children of my own, there really isn't much to hold me back except finances. And ambition. Which I wasn't over endowed with since birth. Now my husband on the other hand...well, lets just be glad someone in the family has it! LoL

Makes you think though. What would you be or do if there were no obstacles?

If money weren't an issue, there is alot I would do. We talk sometimes about 'what if' we won the lottery - big time. What would we do? How would our life be different? I think I would open a couple of businesses, or buy one. Two that interest me immediately is the quilt shop, and another is a diner. I love New England diners. We did own and operate a restaurant many years ago, but it wasn't a diner. It should have been. Maybe we'd still have it now. But that's another story.

Travel. Live on the water somewhere. Help out our families. Start a fund to help others adopt, which is a subject close to my heart. I really would love to help those who truly need it. It's fun to think about. Again, another unlikely event, but you never know.

The biggest hindrance now besides finances, is fear of failure. Once you have failed big, you never forget it, and it affects you for the rest of your life, because you realize you are not invincible, that everything does not always work out ok in the end, and it can really devastate you emotionally and financially.

Ok. On to happier thoughts. Did I mention I just did a crazy dance routine around the basement to the song of 'Can You Feel It Now' by Tremolo? Wow. That really gets the blood pumping. I think Max (my cat) thought I had gone off the deep end, and I'm sure the neigbors heard it inside their homes as I had it cranked. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.