My Column, by Bruce Wasenius--May 2016

May: the month to see if all those April showers will produce any flowers. One of the best times of the year, first the tips of the tree branches begin to take on a light green hue as the early buds show themselves, then the bushes begin to change too. Warmer temps and more sunlight makes it easier to be out longer. A good time for being outside whether it's in the yard or at a park or just taking a stroll around the neighborhood and appreciating the beauty of nature. It's a funny thing, yard work doesn't seem like work when it's your own yard. An hour or two goes by quickly, getting the ground ready for the garden and the plants to come.
Our family moved almost three years ago to a town with a population of less than my high school graduating class, and it's a whole different lifestyle. Actually, it's more reminiscent of growing up in the 50's, lazy days, not much traffic...on a lot of days I could stand at the crossroads downtown and look all four ways and not see a car. It gets busy at harvest time, that is if you think busy is waiting behind some farm equipment for a quarter of a mile... Vacation time coming up as school gets closer to ending for another year. Time to make plans for the summer. Time off, whatever you do with it is necessary for your mental and physical health. Having some time without schedules can be fun and useful, even if you just put up a tent in the yard, take your camper twenty miles from home, or you might be fine tuning plans for a vacation trip, searching for places to stay and things to do is exciting. Look for points of interest around your town or state and visit them, it's o.k. to be a tourist. Music festivals will be happening througout the country all the way into the fall no matter the genre and lots of them are free or have special rates. It all comes down to one thing, renewal, time to forget the cold and dark of winter, and celebrate the beginning of better days.