I can honestly say that it wasn’t on my bucket list to mow the lawn while it was snowing. Friday would’ve been better—sunny and sixty—but I have a 925 and I had a meeting after work I couldn’t get out of. Saturday it rained all day, which, I know, grass loves. Sunday was the only opportunity left in the weekend, and with stocking cap and gloves on, I went to mow. Snow started to fall. It must be April. I’ve always believed that “April fools” has an origin in the weather. I can’t prove it, but it seems just when you think it’s safe to go without a coat, suddenly winter. Back when we lived in Wisconsin we took a family fun trip to Wisconsin Dells for my wife’s birthday in April. It snowed. We rode the famous ducks and then played mini-golf amid squalls. April fools.
The weather influences many aspects of life. Why it’s considered a neutral topic I don’t know. It’s kind of like talking about God. The only thing we all agree on is that we can’t control it. Well, we can certainly influence it. Global warming sets strange weather patterns into motion. It was in the seventies less than a month ago. (Which is why grass was unruly just as April began its double-digits.) Then there’s all the rain. See what I mean about God? Divinity and weather were in mind as I worked on Weathering the Psalms. I still wrestle with how these things relate to each other in the human psyche. We do tend to think the weather is somehow a judgment or blessing.
My family knows I complain about it religiously. And mowing isn’t my favorite activity in any weather. It was late November and I was still mowing. April (which fools) seems to be a little too soon to be starting that all over again. Committing at least one day of every weekend until nearly next Christmas to cutting grass. It’s a long-term commitment. I suspect those who benefit (monetarily, for we all lose, existentially) from global warming probably don’t mow their own lawns. They probably have their private jets that don’t need to be jump started because that worrying idiot-light on the dash is on again and they’re afraid to use it. It’s life in a different key. Still, we all share the weather. When it affects crops, or swamps New York City, we’ll all be bound to notice. Enough grumbling. It’s time to get the weed-whacker fired up while the icicles start to form. April fools.
