while waiting for spring

Usually I embrace, or at least I really try to embrace each season and all its benefits, without rushing into the next. March is always a mixture of winter, with teases of spring. If nothing else, at least you know you are in the homestretch of winter and the finish line is in sight. But I think the reason I’ve been struggling so much this year with waiting for spring, is because we’ve had the mildest winter I can ever remember. It has literally felt like March since Christmas. And in my mind, that tells me spring is just around the corner. But according to the calendar, it isn’t.

All these starts and stops of winter have created an intense itching for spring. I often found myself wishing there was a cream that would ease this itch. I tried to ease the itch by buying cut or potted flowers at Trader Joe’s. That helped for awhile. Then I tried with slowly changing some of my decor from winter to spring. But, I think I have finally found the solution.

I decided to start working on some of my spring painting projects now. These are things I could do outside when the weather finally warms. But, by bringing things inside, I found I could put down a drop cloth, do my painting in the living room, and get them out of the way now.

I started with my obelisk that was showing signs of wear. It definitely needed a scrub down and fresh coat of paint. It is stored in the greenhouse during the winter, so I brought it in the house to dry out for about a week before painting.

I have done tons of painting in my lifetime, and the older I get, the less I enjoy this necessary task. So I decided to break down the painting into manageable bits that could be done quickly and easily in small increments of time. My solution . . . bottoms always first . . . first coat.

Everything dries quite quickly in the dry heat of a winter home, requiring only two days to apply two coats on both the underside and the top side. With the TV nearby for entertainment, I hardly noticed I was painting.

This obelisk is really tall, only inches short of my 8-foot ceiling, and before I knew it, it was finished.

Looking clean and crisp again, I will leave it inside for another week for the paint to completely cure before taking it back to the greenhouse to wait for spring. This obelisk is about ten years old, and was somewhat expensive. For this reason, I try to keep on top of its condition so it will last my entire lifetime.

As soon as it’s warm enough to turn the soil, I will be placing the obelisk in the center of what will be my new rose garden, with the beautiful David Austin rose, “Princess Anne” planted to meander up and through it.

While painting the obelisk, I brought in a garden bench that I set upside down on the washing machine, so the feet that were sitting in the damp ground could thoroughly dry out. In it’s lifetime, it has been painted black, then white, and now a soft green.

I always prefer to start “bottoms up” to get the worst part out of the way first.

It took less than five minutes to paint the top, and by the second day it was finished.

For some reason, even though this is an older bench, no matter how often I paint it, the paint continues to peel off on the top and seep sap. The top usually gets a touch up again around mid summer.

The bench will also stay inside for a few weeks, with hopes that if the paint dries and cures well, maybe it won’t peel.

Working on all these projects has definitely helped me to enjoy these last weeks of winter. Winter may drag on for another four weeks if it feels contrary, but with every outdoor project I finish inside, I find I don’t mind. At the same time I brought in the bench to dry out, I hauled in these old rusty rings from old whiskey barrels that used to be rain barrels in the yard. They were covered with dirt, leaves, and snow, and are the next project in waiting . . . to be continued.