March 20, 2026
I am a member of Procrastination Nation- a charter member! I have a pile of papers ready so I can fill out my income tax forms. AARP is warning me that there is more fraud than ever this year, tricksters who may have received my refund before I have even filed. This increases my anxiety, but has it spurred me to action? No. Not yet. I think those spurs have been lost.
You know how ponds turn over, from winter to spring? Yes, they do that. Water is stratified, warmer water down at the bottom, around 50 Degrees F all winter. The cold top layer is actually lighter. Yes, it is. As the air warms, and the top layer of water warms, there is a point where these layers of water flip, the warm water at the bottom rises, bringing up nutrients from the pond bottom, and the top layer sinks. It doesn’t mix, it flips. Go figure. I’m not a scientist.
Why have I spent so much time on this subject? Procrastination. And really, all I wanted to say is: In the winter my stomach is always hungry. I am waiting for it to flip- like the ponds do. Maybe by the end of April? Then I can stop craving bread and cookies and gaining weight.
Did you know pepper helps the health of your liver? Yes, black pepper. That’s why I put pepper in my jelly. That’s how I get it into me without sneezing. I never sprinkle it from a shaker onto my food, or I’ll sneeze the meal right off the table.
I suppose I can embrace Spring this morning, even though it’s not warm out just yet, and give up one of my winter indulgences- cream. This here is my last cup of coffee with cream until next November. Back to 2% milk. Back to wearing jeans with zippers and no more elastic-banded sweatpants. Yes, they are tight. That will help me remember not to bake another skillet of corn bread just for the fun of mixing it up the ingredients, because then I will surely eat it with my pepper jelly.
And aha! There is time found to finish up my income tax as easily as a high school economics math problem. But the birdies are singing and my seed catalog is full of veggies and flowers that look so luscious. Maybe that’s why I procrastinate. Hibernation is over. Happy Spring.