Goodbye Spring: Excuse Me While I Kiss The Sky, NOT

/ Ally Bean

Purple petunias in terra cotta pot as seen in humid, hazy light. No filter involved. Photo taken mid-morning.

With a hat tip to Jimi Hendrix, I’d like to share with you, my gentle readers, that this has not been a wonderful spring.  This makes me sad because I love late spring.

It’s my second favorite time of year. Oh yes it is.

However this year, to continue quoting Jimi, “Lately things they don’t seem the same, Acting funny, but I don’t know why.”

Which is me alluding to the fact that all it does around here is rain.

Soggy parsley.

I’m talking inches of rain, daily. Flash flooding. Mudslides. Slippery sidewalks.

Overwatered pots of formerly beautiful geraniums and petunias, now looking like death warmed over.

Pots of herbs so wet they are existing in a weird soggy stasis, looking pathetic.

Sad basil.

In the parlance of ye olde weather forecasters who claim to know why we’ve had this excessive, soul-sucking rain: there’ve been “numerous ripples of energy” that have brought more rain showers and thunderstorms to the region than are normal.

Uh huh. That’s nice.

However, be that as it may, while the rain continues unabated I’ll just contemplate “am I happy or in misery” while I’m stuck inside the house today in my own version of a caffeinated, irritable, non-psychedelic purple gray haze.

Me happy. NOT.

Stone steps down to terrace as seen in humid, hazy light. Again, no filter involved. Photo taken mid-morning.

92 thoughts on “Goodbye Spring: Excuse Me While I Kiss The Sky, NOT”

  2. That’s my world as well. I’m going out this morning to run errands before the deluge that’s due in this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow morning. I’ve resorted to bringing all my potted flowers inside or at least under cover during the downpours. It’s crazy… and forget keeping the lawn nicely mowed. Just when it’s sunny enough to dry out for a day… it rains again. On the plus side, everything is very, very green.
    Including me.

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  3. I think I have your spring Ally. We’ve had much less rain, warmer temps and are already deep in the drought warnings on all the state maps. My corner of the world typically expects rain until after July 4th at least. We’re already seeing wildfires as well 😦
    But we all know climate change is a myth… right?

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    • Deb, you made me laugh with that last line. Yes, it sounds like you have our spring. Are you enjoying it? I can live vicariously through you because this here be soggy city. So moldy and slimy and wet.

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      • I love not walking in the rain, but we are finishing up the “June Gloom” period here. No real rain but cloudy skies almost constantly. I accept it though!

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        • I’ve never heard the saying “June Gloom” but I get it. That’s been us this late spring. So weird because this is usually the prettiest time of year for flowers with oodles of sunshine and warm breezes. 🙁

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  4. We drove through torrential downpours to get home yesterday. And it rained on & off the day before. But blue skies greeted me this morning. I’ll send some your way, shall I?

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  6. I wish I had rain to blame for my funk – though I’m so sorry you’re having so much of it and all the weather related problems (like mudslides!!) that are going along.

    But I’m with Kate – some ripples of energy would really do me some good!

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    • Katie, I’m not all that cheerful and energized right now, either. I’m trying to stay positive but could use a few ripples of energy to help me keep my spirits up. This has just been the saddest late spring I can remember and this is the time of year that I live for. Not this year, the joke’s on me.

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  7. Aw. It’s been much the same here. Without the fog though. And I’m a rain-lover, so I’m not complaining at all. It’s only when the sun comes out and the temps soar to their normal soul withering heights, that the humidity from all that rain rises too. Then I’m definitely NOT happy. I don’t care for extremes in heat, but WET heat? F$%! that noise. 😦 Sorry about your plants. At least they are really really GREEN… 🙂

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    • Melanie, I usually enjoy rainy weather, too. But this is torrential rain and humidity that creates mold and haze and slippery surfaces. I would like to see the sun shine for a few days in a row, but like you said I’d like for there to be no humidity while it shines. Is that asking for too much? And yes, the plants are a pretty shade of green, so there’s that.

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  8. I arrived at the coast this afternoon in gorgeous warm and sunny weather though the alarm bells are sounding for high winds, rain storms and freezing weather all along the southern coast from tomorrow – i can take small batches I guess but if prolonged, i turn into a beast. I’m not suggesting anything Ally Bean but may this damp soon pass before …. too long …

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    • Susan, I hear ‘ya. I don’t mind rain usually because we need it and it doesn’t take over the forecast for months at a time. But like you said, small batches are ok. It’s the long days over and over again that get to me. Stay warm and dry whilst you try to not turn into a beast! 😉

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  10. Spring is gone without ever really settling in. I’d ask for a refund if I could. My basil looks as sad as yours, though my lettuce, spinach, and kale have been thriving in the cooler wetter weather.

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    • Norm, if this weather were ever to become the norm I’m going to plant lettuce and spinach. But usually it’s sunny and clear with the right amount of rain to grow herbs. Not this year. I like your idea of asking for a refund. So sensible.

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  11. Constant gray and rain can do in the spirit. I know that as a life long PacNW girl. Coffee and indoor pursuits are the only option. You may have our usual weather there since we are in a drought here. Summer is not going to be fun with water restrictions. As you know, Jimi is from my area and I enjoy many of his songs. 🙂

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    • Margaret, I agree about coffee and inside recess, as I call it. I’m disappointed with this weather because it’s not our norm and I do like June. You’re going to have water restrictions? Won’t that be a jolly thing? I didn’t know Jimi was from your area, but he’s a classic. Not that I’m kissing the sky right now…

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  12. We have had some really hot days here – 90’s and even up to the 100’s – which is very warm for us. We had to buy an evaporating fan for my husband because he gets miserable in the heat. There were none in the local stores so we ordered it and of course the day it came the heat wave broke and he needed a blanket because it was cold. Go figure.

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    • Janet, those are high temps. We get them in August, but for you in June that’s weird. At least you have the fan for the next time the weather gets so hot. But yes, wouldn’t you know? 🙄

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  14. Wet here too, plus cooler than normal. That means somewhere else in the world someone is too dry and hot…because Gaia is (a bitch) like that. But really, who can blame her, with her parasite (us) problem?

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    • Deb, nicely reasoned. I’m sure you’re right. Our temps are normal here but there’s been too much rain. So I stay inside muttering about the weather, like the weather cares about my opinion of it.

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    • Jan, you get fog in the spring? Makes sense now that I think on it. You’re right about the humidity that shows up side-by-side with the heat. The midwest can be sweltering in the summer.

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  17. I’m reading this as the rain tap tap taps on my window. I usually love late spring also, but this year, I’m clapping with the rain. It brings down the pollen, and this year my allergies have been so bad I haven’t been able to be outside. NO! What did I do to deserve this? So perhaps the rain is my tears, saying goodbye to a spring I never got to enjoy.
    Here’s to summer and SUN!

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    • Pam, allergies are nothing but trouble. I can understand why the rain has been your friend. I like your tears analogy and will try to think positive thoughts about the good that rain does. However, I’m with you about summer and sun. Please, soon, please.

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  18. I realize the Pacific NW is supposed to be known for its rain, but we haven’t seen much of it this year. We had quite a bit of rain in April and we had a quick shower last night, but we’ve been mostly dry this spring. I love blue skies, but I do have a high tolerance for cloudy skies and sprinkles. I haven’t been able to wear my beautiful new spring raincoat yet–periwinkle blue with huge splashes of pink flowers. So I’m planning on taking it to Hawaii.

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    • Behind the Story, it would seem that your region is having our spring. I miss the blue skies, although I’ll admit that I do like a few rain days now and again– just not weeks of them. I’m sure that your cheerful raincoat will look perfect in HA. Perhaps you’ll find a lei to coordinate with it.

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  20. Oh man do I empathize. There had been so much rain on the west coast , that we were turning into mallard ducks. You should see the feathers growing on our backs 😄

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    • S. G., you made me laugh with that one. Thanks. For me the thing is that I don’t hate rain, even look forward to the grayness of a few rainy days. But this has been torrential and never-ending. Too much of a good thing, I guess.

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  21. No kissing the sky for a looooooooooong time here in SE Michigan either. I’ve been a weather whiner too, between blaming Mother Nature, and also in one of my recent posts I slammed the weather folks who seem wishy-washy in predicting the weather; they use buzz words and cutesy sayings about the impending weekend weather. It’s like they are tippy toeing around the forecast … just tell it like it is. It’s crummy, so don’t sugarcoat it. They said today was another “down day” … it was an all-day rain, that’s more than just a “down day” in my opinion. I loved the Jimi Hendrix references Ally – very clever.

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    • linda, you’re right about how the weather forecasters report the weather. If it’s going to be a sucky rainy day, just tell me straight up. I can take it. But they seem to want to play with words more than present facts. Botheration, is what I say to them.

      Jimi just rolled into my brain when I sat down to write this post so I went with it. You gotta go where muse takes you, you know?

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      • Well, the weather folks bemoaned this ugly weather again for this weekend and now this morning they say “the models have changed … both Saturday and Sunday are nice, Sunday overnight/early Monday are stormy. I put off grocery shopping one day this week as they called for gusty storms (not that I want them) as I didn’t want another power outage and they never mentioned gusty winds 40 mph +. So now two days’ worth of good weather and I’m giddy over it! Today too – I’m happy to be leaving in a few minutes … cool and crisp, just how a Fall day would be, not on the cusp of Summer … but no rain.

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        • Enjoy your nice weather [if you get it] and go outside all you can. Should we be graced with sunshine today, or this weekend, I’ll be nowhere near a keyboard. Love the internet and blogging, but I’m antsy about doing something outside. I’m sure you understand.

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          • Yes, same for me Ally. I’m ecstatic it will be nice weather. I will do my yardwork on Sunday now that we have two great days. It is easier for garbage day on Monday then lugging all the bags from back to front and messing with them again. Last weekend I spent the entire weekend working in the house (groan) and I had prewritten a couple of posts to launch over the weekend, so I was away from the computer except responding to comments in the evening. Sometimes you just have to push away. I follow a UK Blogger (Hugh’s News and Views) and he did a post yesterday saying he was taking a break from blogging until 07/20. He recommended every blogger step away and take a break every so often.

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            • I agree about taking breaks from blogging. I do it, always announcing what I’m doing beforehand. Showing up again when I say I will. I like keeping a personal blog but abide by the adage: my blog, my rules. Hoping your dry Sunday is all that and a bag of, if not chips, then trash! 😎

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              • I feel I should take a break too as I am conflicted with house/yard stuff versus free time as it is. I’m always scrambling around to accommodate everything in my day, but, because I live alone and work from home and have no relatives and all my friends live out of state, I connect with the outside world via the computer. I do not own a smartphone. And today was just an abysmal day – I had so looked forward to today – had a long and arduous week at work and another one on the way and I just needed to get away from the computer, house with the neighbors’ barking dogs which are driving me up the wall and just escape. I just wrote a long post about my day and the garage door where the spring went wacky. It acted like a slingshot into my car, damaged the car, the ceiling of the garage and went into the garage door as well. I was locked out this morning on top of it. Now I debate whether to take myself out anyway or stay home and do all the yardwork … I will sleep on it.

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                • Just reading this comment now after reading you subsequent blog post where I commented. I try to stay current with my blogging and with my commenting but there’s only so much time, so like I said above, and believe whole-heartedly, my blog, my rules. I do what I can. You, too?

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                  • Oh I agree with you Ally – I have to spend less time here, especially in the good-weather months. I am trying to catch up on comments I missed yesterday since I was off the grid until late last night and when I got here, it was really the first time I sat down in hours and I could not stay awake. All that effort, sunshine and fresh air then a few hours doing grocery shopping and I am now two days behind in Reader with a stormy day on the horizon. I only did not go out this morning to walk as I listed to the weather folks again … they predicted a bad weather day from dawn to dusk, and later than that really … we have our Ford Fireworks which celebrates Canada and U.S. on the Detroit River tonight. They must call it off by 2:00 p.m. before people assemble if it will be dangerous weather. I decided to sleep in a little. I do love the blogging and am 100% with you even if it seems like I am here all the time. In the Winter it is much easier to keep up, but you have to look at it this way … other people have lives too and other commitments which pull at our time – we cannot always stay the course here in the blogosphere … something has to give. I struggle to keep balance in my life with my time.

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  22. Cute post, although I’m not really a Hendrix fan. More of a Prince Purple Rain fan! Reporting from Canada – nothing but rain here too – and cool – worst spring ever. If the sun does manage to come out it’s only for a few hours then it clouds over. Today was a cool north wind, but we’ll probably go right into that hot humid stuff as that’s exactly what happened last summer.

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    • Joni, oh I didn’t think of Prince Purple Rain for this post. Bummer. That’d have been a good song to use here, too.

      I know that many of my commenters are farther north than I am and they’ve said the same thing that you did: “worst spring ever.” I try not to whine about the weather, but this year, yesterday, I’d had it with all the wetness. Looks like the same forecast for today, but today I shall endeavor to be less grumpy about it. We’ll see how that goes. 😐

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  23. Same here. I am seriously bummed about my garden, I can’t even. One of the very few things I enjoy about summer is my garden. Seeds floating and sh — Sorry to see your soggy herbs.
    Rains a lot. Storms often. It rains always on my weekends. I haven’t worn most of my summer clothes or sandals yet.

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      • I’m just hoping that summer isn’t cruel and turns up the heat and humidity to max to make up for the dismal spring. The lilacs are just now in full bloom – a month later than normal. No wonder I’m in a constant state of confusion about what the date is.

        I rather like these more moderate temperatures – just a lot less soggy.

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        • I like moderate temps, too. I wonder if you’re right about what’s going to happen this summer. I tire of humidity and heat but at this point if there was a bit of sunshine involved I might overlook it. Just so tired of seeing gray out my window.

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  25. We’ve had rain 29 of the last 51 days here. Another newspaper gleefully told me we’ve had it 55 of the past 93. Either way, I AM OVER IT.
    My whole house feels sticky and soggy. I haven’t had a Good Hair Day since February. I certainly don’t want winter again, but this is ridiculous.

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    • nance, I feel like nothing ever gets dry around here, the dishes, the clothes, my hair. The gloom is tiring to my soul, and while it’s been sunny today the rain comes back tonight for more days and days of it. Enough already.

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  27. Hi Ally, The weather does affect a lot of people. Especially prolonged, grey, wet weather. I was raised with a LOT of rain and I adopted the word “cocooning.” Enoughs, enough, though. I wish you sunshine:)

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    • Erica/Erika, I need to remember that I’m “cocooning” and just stop whining about the rain. Which has stopped now, leaving us with the greenest darned green landscape I’ve seen around here in years. ‘Tis pretty, so that’s good.

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  29. Yikes – that’s yucky weather – do you feel like you were transported to the Rain Forest? Do you have jungle animals there too? I’m sending you wishes for sunshine!

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  30. It’s been a wet spring here, too, and it’s a bummer. Spring is usually a short season here on the seacoast, but adding a whole lotta rain to it is a drag. My day today looks as hazy as your photos. Maybe July will be sunnier?

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    • Kate, I like your idea about July. It can be pretty here and not too warm [like August] so *fingers crossed* it’ll be a good month. I’m ready for some outside fun, I tell ‘ya.

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  31. Well, your Please Stand By post doesn’t have a place for comments, but not only am I a cool kid, I’m a creative kid. I’m blogging about that post here!! All I really wanted to say was that I LOVE my desktop computer, too. There’s nothing more satisfying than having individual keys that deeply depress as you type. Can’t STAND typing on my laptop (although its portability is a plus). Technology and I have a strained relationship, so I feel your pain. See you when you get it all sorted out. Good luck!

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    • Thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m glad that someone else understands my love of desktop computers. I learned how to use a computer on a desktop so maybe that’s why I feel so comfortable using one. I want to adore my laptop, and sometimes [like now] it’s all I have BUT typing on it annoys me. 🤨

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