Mother Nature’s Last Blast?

I certainly hope it is Her last blast because I am heartily sick of talking about the weather. As a gesture of optimism (or perhaps defiance) I shall spend the afternoon making a pussy willow wreath for the Church door. I have blank willow wreath and some (artificial) pussy willow sprays. I think I’ll keep it fairly loose as I’d like to add some delicately tinted eggs and little bird’s nests as Easter draws nearer. Won’t pussy willows look pretty on my door surrounded by the 12″ of snow we’re supposed to get this afternoon? 😐

It’s lucky I got home when I did. I was fortunate to have bare and dry roads the whole way back and a little sunshine to boot! Back in the late ’90’s when I was driving back and forth between Toronto and New Orleans quite a bit, I discovered a beautiful road; the Natchez Trace Parkway runs between Nashville, TN and Natchez, MS and represents the footpaths taken by our ancestors on their way to the mighty Mississippi. A National Park Service road, the Trace is closed to commercial traffic which means NO TRUCKS. (Any one who regularly drives the 400 series highways in Ontario or the Interstate roads in the US understands what a true blessing this is!)

I drove the Trace from Jackson, MS right through to Nashville last Thursday on my way home with a brief stop in Tupelo, about half way along. I can’t gush enough about the glorious scenery and breathtaking views along this road. The speed limit is slower than the Interstate, yet the road cuts about 100 miles off the trip, saves fuel and is virtually stress-free. I saw wildlife too! Deer, wild turkeys, armadillos and possums were plentiful; I even spied some Canada Geese flying home early (against my advice;)

Though I had a great time with friends and visiting old stomping grounds, I’m happy to be home. I’ll take advantage of this snow day by taking stock of my WIP’s…there are many!