Bernie’s Bookmark: Crazy Weather

February usually brings a few light snowfalls to North Carolina. Instead, in 2023’s February, Bradford Pear, Red Bud, and Dogwood trees covered themselves in white and pink blooms. Not a snowflake in sight. We also got dusted with the dreaded never-ending yellow pine pollen. It still covers cars and lays in drifts on the streets. The flowers and the pollen don’t usually come until March.

This year in March, the temperatures dropped, and one day a blanket of snow frosted the flowering trees. The strangest result of the flip-flop in the weather was to see the snow covered in yellow pollen. The snow is gone now and March has just settled into a pattern of cold mornings and warmer afternoons. Will spring return or will we head straight into summer?

On the home front, you will remember last month I posted a picture of our piano being taken away by the Piano Guy. Its absence left us with an empty space which we filled with an attractive shelf unit. We put some books on the shelves, set a pretty lamp with a Capiz shell shade on top, and displayed photo frames with new snap shots. The centerpiece of this arrangement is a stunning painting by my niece, Angie Bro, who works with a combination of on-line graphic tools. You can find her work in her Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StarvingBlondeArtist.

You know I love to sew, and I finally made some American Doll clothes for our granddaughters’ dolls. The dresses were fun to make, and the hats were a challenge. I am delighted with the results and the girls were thrilled with the clothes. Win-win. They have already chosen the patterns they want me to make next.

And lastly, on my writing scene, I can start the countdown to the publication of my ghost story collection by Devil’s Party Press. It will be released in one year from next month: April 2024. In anticipation, I have come up with a little contest I hope you will find fun. Each blog I will give you the title of one of the stories, and you guess the setting and put your answers in the comments. I will announce the winners in next month’s blog. Okay. Here’s your first challenge: “The Holy Ghost.”