We have a side porch that we practically live in during the warm months, but this spring it has been covered in pollen from the pine and other trees that surround it. I have felt even less like cleaning than I normally do, so we have kept the door shut for the most part to keep that excess pollen from blowing into our main living areas. But this afternoon, with sunny skies prevailing over the cloudy morning we had, my husband got out the vacuum cleaner and other things and did some major cleaning out there. What a good man he is! Of course there's still some dusting that I'll get out there and do, perhaps in the morning, but when I looked out there just a little bit ago, I was amazed and my spirits were lifted!
It's a wonderful spot for morning coffee, an afternoon read (or nap), and an evening cocktail with friends among the candlelight and nighttime sounds of the woods and the wind. Y'all come!! I'd love to have you!
And now... the other part of the cleaning story. When John was first getting started on cleaning the porch, he called to me, with a voice that I knew meant some interesting critter was around! He pointed outside the screen to the shrubbery below, at the base of our front deck, and there stretched out on a branch was a very long black snake... the first one I'd seen this season. Guess what I did?
If you don't like snakes, you may not want to scroll down. But really, they are fascinating creatures, and they have a definite role on this green earth. I am not too thrilled when they find the bird nests around the house, but I know they have to eat too. It's all part of the plan, like it or not. So this one was about to molt, or shed its skin, hence the strange blue eyes. And so I guess this snake was getting ready to do his own spring cleaning too!
