March Madness has begun.

    I love the spring. Although, it can be a miserable time of the year, with sinus issues, tornadoes, and the return of snakes, it is my favorite time of the year. Trees, shrubs and flowers are beginning to bloom, grass is turning green, and new life can be seen everywhere.
    Spring is when many young couples plan to begin their lives together with wedding parties showing up everywhere. Spring break occurs throughout the world for college students and in a week or two we will have enough new pictures of partially clad women all over the social networks to last us all for the next year.
    This is also the time of year when Christian families with good family values, who support strong morals, dress their children in their best Sunday go meetin clothes, attend church and thank God for the gift He gave the world. They praise the Resurrection of Christ and they teach their children Christian values that never promotes hatred towards others, not even towards non-believers or believers of other faiths.
    This is the time of year College Basketball fans all over America looks forward to every year. Sixty-four colleges across the nation compete in one game elimination rounds to crown the final winner as the years National Championship team. If you have never watched it you wouldn't understand what a surge of euphoria it is to follow an underdog team from being Seeded #6 in the West to the #1 team in the Nation. To me, the greatest game ever played was in 1983. Jimmy Valvano was coaching the "Cardiac Pack,' of North Carolina State University. I just happened to be a shitty student of that great university that year. After each win the Brickyard would erupt into a wild party which spilled out onto Hillsborough Street and would run well into the morning hours. It was electrifying. When Dereck Whittenberg's three-point shot went wide right, Lorenzo Charles just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. He caught the shot and slammed the ball in the hoop at the buzzer. Stunned, Lorenzo stood there for a split second before he realized he had just won the game for the Wolfpack. The Cardiac Pack defeated the Phi Slamma Jamma of Houston in the final second of the game. The Houston Cougars' Phi Slamma Jamma consisted of two great players that earned Houston their nickname, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. What a season it was and what a memory to have of a great team and a great coach. RIP Jimmy V.
    This is also the time of year when the Federal government raises the water levels in our lakes and rivers so fishing from the banks will be enjoyable again. I actually hate seeing the fall day arrive when the river levels are dropped causing an eyesore along the shores throughout the winter. I love fishing. Last year I caught a bunch of fish. Many worth keeping but I threw them all back to grow another year. I love fish fries, but unless you catch enough to feed everyone, it is more reasonable to purchase the fish already cleaned while you fish for sport.
    I guess my favorite part of Spring is the planting of a new garden. Throughout my life I have had gardens. I have had some awesome gardens, and I have had a few shitty gardens. This year I am going to have the greenhouse plus some raised beds that both Janit and I can enjoy. We have already picked and eaten a ton of spinach and lettuce from the greenhouse, and we have planted a second round of those plants, where needed. I have also planted 6 new tomato plants, and 4 cucumber plants along with strawberries in the greenhouse. Outside we had some car tires laying around on the back of the property that were left here when we bought the place so I have decided to put them to use as planters this year to see how well they work. I have planted onions, potatoes, and garlic in tire planters, and built cages around them for protection. I plan to build a permanent raised bed for some asparagus ferns that I currently have growing in a 5 gallon bucket. I am hoping to keep the tomatoes in the greenhouse year round, as I designed the greenhouse so I can raise the entire front side of the roof to allow for ventilation in the summer heat. I hope it works. If it doesn't, who knows, if push comes to shove, I may just put a small window unit A/C in there if it gets too hot. It couldn't be that hard to do. I will do better updating these things and keep you informed on the progress.