Mechanic Falls

MECHANIC FALLS — I like flipping my calendar to May. There is something about this month that solidifies the fact that Spring is really here. I refuse to let a dark memory from the recesses of my brain remind me that in my senior year my school had a snow day right around Mother’s Day. So I will ignore this dark memory and move on to pretty things like the fact that my tulips are blooming and the lilies coming up and the crazy birds flitting non-stop from feeder to feeder.

I cannot get enough of flowers and shrubs and dirt, really. Just the other day one of my children asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day. (This was a girl child, by the way. Not that my boys don’t care about Mother’s Day, they just need their sisters to remind them when it’s coming and that they should chip in for the gift that the sisters will pick out.)

Anyway I answered my daughter by saying flowers, plants, gardening tools, a new perennial shrub, and before I could say “dirt” she rolled her eyes. It’s the same thing every year. I don’t have any other ideas for Mother’s Day. Besides, May is the perfect time to be outside in the garden. Yes, the black flies are annoying, but if you strap on goggles and do not have any skin exposed, you’re good to go.

I drove by Delightful Odds ‘n Herbs on the Mechanic Falls/Poland line the other day and they are open for business. I did the happy dance in the car and let my daughter know that a gift certificate there would be, well, delightful.

The recent rains did make the week feel a little dreary, but I have to say, now that the streets have been swept up and the trees are leafing out, Mechanic Falls has her pretty face on again. I’m going outside now to dig in the dirt and check on my little seedlings. I have a tarp ready just in case there are flurries in the forecast. I can’t believe I just wrote that. Chalk it up to the dark side of living in New England.