Spring

Despite what the crazy weather might do—it keeps going from oh-crap-its-getting-hot-again to oh-please-stay-this-cool-a-bit-longer, back and forth, as a horrible tease—I can tell it’s spring. The trees outside my windows are full of bird life, and a nesting pair of sparrows have found the birdseed I put out on one of the ledges. When they aren’t devouring the seed, I see them flying back and forth from the ground to their nest, located somewhere above my windows (perhaps under the air conditioning unit of the apartment above me), wee beaks full of nest-twigs. Elsewhere among the trees, I have to keep averting my eyes as just about every dove that lands within sight is in the midst of bird-courtship. Mockingbirds are actively defending their nests, chasing off the blue jays and robins, who are daily visitors among the branches and rooftops as they hunt for food and nest material.

And I have started growing herbs again. I might not have a yard, I might not have a balcony, I might not even have any significant place in this apartment that gets enough sun to support herbs, but I can’t not try, especially when I found one small spot that might work. My bathroom windowsill gets lots of afternoon sun, and I could not resist picking up a parsley and a mint last week. They are both tolerant of partial sun, so I thought they’d have the best chance. They are doing *wonderfully,* so well in fact that I have to keep them picked back regularly. But that’s fine by me…fresh parsley and mint in cooking is simply delicious. :-)