Yearning for a day outdoors

My house plants have recently been looking with envy toward their outdoor cousins. This winter's unseasonable warm spells have made them jealous of the quince, the iris and the viburnum just beyond the glass.

Normally the philodendron, the dieffebbachia and their pals would be happy if the cat brushed by their leaves on the way to the window. Not today. With the temperature nearing 60-degrees and last Sunday's 24" snowfall a mere patch on the lawn, my few stalwart green guys were scratching at the door to go out.

Who am I to deny my plants a little vacation from the ho-hum life in a bay window? Out they went during this morning's brief rain shower. Then the clouds blew away and they basked in the midday sun until the temperature began to go down. Now the radio is warning of an overall 35-degree drop as a weather front moves in.

Yes, the plants are inside, happy to be back and safe from the high winds that are supposed to arrive. Let's hope whatever weather "event" visits us tonight, that it is not as devastating as last month's tree-toppling sleet storm.

--Barbara Todd Kerr

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