Friday, January 16, 2009

Southern Living: Not exactly

I love the south. I even love armadillos, (the Texas state animal) if for nothing else but their sheer ugliness.

I love drawls, eating watermelon then spittin' the seeds, front porch visits, graciousness, people who 'come to call', sweet tea, grits with butter, fluffy biscuits and cornbread, fried okra, riding on the open road in the back of a beat up pickup truck, tire swings and ropes over creeks, mosquito dope trucks, fruit pies with flaky crusts, catching fireflies in mason jars, crispy fried chicken with mashed potatoes with gravy, cold swimmin' holes, white clapboard houses with peeling paint and tin roofs, ferocious thunder storms, and even the blasted heat. Maybe especially the blasted heat.

I can't say I've ever felt it was too hot. Ever. Growing up in Texas, it just was. A little girl didn't know any different. Living here in the northeast, when it gets above 90 degrees people around here close their windows, turn on the AC, and meet in the aisles of the local grocery store to complain about The Heat.

Sometimes, on a summer day, I'll look down my driveway at the yard below. I'll eye my herb garden and the bird/squirrel feeder, the black-eyed susans, hostas and lilac bushes we planted, and think how much I love the season.

So to be greeted by this sight - this morning:



There's nothing in my southern blood that's going to make that okay. Today when I pull on boots, a down coat, scarf, ear muffs and gloves to go out and retrieve the mail, I'm going to look down that snow-covered driveway and try, try, try to remember days when the lilacs will once again hang heavy with their purple blossoms and the bluejays will fuss and fight with everyone else, trying to get a few seeds to feed their newly hatched babies.

Days like today the south feels too far away. Days like today, if I was blessed enough to be about 1000 miles south, and I happened to spy an armadillo, he might look a bit more attractive to me.

10 comments:

pcb said...

Thanks for stopping by...I always enjoy your blog but feel sorry for you today! We are cold in the deep south but nothing like -40!

Girl Raised in the South said...

Oh PCB - that's -4.0 Not -40. If it was - forty degrees I'd be driving south this very minute.

Susanne said...

Will it make you feel warmer to know that my daughter is facing -50*C (that's -58*F) with the wind chill today in her city? -4 might feel downright balmy to ya if you can think of that way. :v)

Kelly said...

Ugh! I'm with you:-) As much as I love a good snow day, snuggled up inside, the older I get the more I just want sunshine and breezes.

(I think my love affair with snow ended shortly after I discovered the "joy" of children traipsing in and out all day, leaving soggy clothes and wet floors behind!)

Big Mama said...

I can't even imagine -4 degrees. It's 40 here today and I am inside with a fire, covered in a blanket, and still cold. I'm a true Texan.

Unknown said...

Psssst. The armadillos are wearing scarves today.

In fact, I saw a bumblebee and he was wearing a yellow jacket.

ahahahahah! That is So not even my joke.

But you of all people will understand me when I tell you that it is COLD here in the deep south. I am not even going to say that on my blog because I can see what y'all are dealing with and 20 degrees sounds downright balmy to you right now. But ... we don't even have coats and mittens and scarves and boots. NO BOOTS. I don't own a pair of shoes that covers my entire foot except for sneakers.

Anyway, I am very glad to be HERE today and not THERE today, even if I have to listen to that ol' heat pump try desperately to find something warm to bring inside.

Have a great weekend, Bev. Keep warm!

Emma Caroline said...

I LOVE, LOVE LOOOOOOOOOVE when it's this cold outside! Ok, so maybe I'm weird. I have always loved the cold weather. What I can't stand is the bone chilling wet weather when it's 40 something degrees. That to me is worse than below zero weather.

Sandy said...

oh i hear you friend, it's so cold and FOGGY here - our kids are wishing for snow days - and i'm wishing for spring! sigh ... :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Bev,

It's early Saturday morning and here in Michigan it's -13, not counting the wind chill. I'm a true northern girl, just like you're a true southern girl, and I must tell you-I adore winter and the cold. I'm one of those who whines incessantly when it's 80 and humid!

Gretchen said...

Um...definition please for this midwestern-turned-western-turned-northwesterner: "mosquito dope trucks"

Sorry. Never heard of that one.

Everything else sounds blissful on days like today. We're in the 30s, but f-o-g. For several days. I'm done with winter. Finished. And, yes, compared to the rest of you, I know I have aught of which to complain.

And around here, when the mercury hits 80 we start to sweat. What with living in the 40-65 degree zone, we finally feel the humidity when it registers 80. We humans are a weak and fickle bunch.