It seems spring weather showed up before the official start of spring this year, and it was an unwelcome advent for those who tap maple trees. Too warm, too fast slowed things down, but hopefully, now that the weather pattern changed once again, to more normal temperatures for this time of year, it will pick up again.
For most who do maple sugaring, it is a labor of love, but it is also a lot of work, and I think it is great if they get some return on their labors. That is how all of farming is: a gamble on weather, and breakdowns, but a matter of love and respect for the land and the animals.
There are several signs that spring has arrived. For Tigerton High School, and I am sure most others, softball practice started, as did track. Baseball will begin next week.
I enjoyed watching as many of the high school basketball games as I could last weekend and will try to do the same with the boys this weekend. The Wisconsin Badgers played some tough basketball over the weekend in their effort to secure a No. 1 seed, which they did. I am not sure why I had gotten away from watching basketball in the past years, but I am glad I rediscovered them again.
As for me, an important date will take place on the 23rd, when I will become 72. Some people try to keep their age at 39, but I have never really felt that way. I figure I have earned every one of these years. Besides, who wants to go back to being 39, and have to go through all the heartaches and joys of the years?
Sure, I would like to have some of the ability back to do things I used to do. I always enjoyed long walks, even as a child. I used to wander all over the farm of my youth with my faithful dog at my side. Sometimes it was to get the cows, but often it was simply to take a walk and gather my thoughts and find peace and relaxation.
When I was about 50, I was told to walk, to try to lower my cholesterol, so once again I laced up my shoes, and walked up and down the hills on Tower Road by our Tigerton farm. Once again our faithful dog would walk with me.
That walking continued for a few years; sometimes I would walk with a neighbor. Soon pain in my foot and leg would slow down my walking, and winters would always hinder the walks.
Years passed, and walking, while still enjoyed, was not always done as much as it should have been. Arthritis had set into my foot, along with fallen arches, and soon I was happy and content with a slower pace. It was moving, but it wasn’t aerobic.
Eventually, I discovered Total Fitness, and have greatly enjoyed all of the wonderful people I have met there. There are classes to take weight machines to work on. At age 72, I am finding that being active is important, for both mind and body.
I am blessed in so many ways with family and friends, and as Psalm 103:1 says: “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.”
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