Happy St. Patrick's Day

 I love spring!  Winters can be long here on the shores of Lake Erie.  We have this thing called, Lake Effect Snow.  Cold Canadian winds blow across the lake, picking up moisture, which hits the lakeshore in the form of...you guessed it, snow.

Here in Erie we have an average of almost 80 inches of snow a year.  That's a lot of snow.

But now it's March!  At this moment, the snow in my yard has all melted.  Although, they're calling for more snow tonight.  This time of year the weather is more precarious than ever.  This last weekend it was in the sixties.  I opened the windows and I wore just a sweatshirt as I walked the dogs.  Tuesday, when I walked, I was back in a heavy coat, but still wore sneakers.  If it snows, well I'm back in boots and bundled up.

But spring is busting out all over!  If you look closely at the picture on the left, I've got purple flowers starting to open on my crocuses.  The one on the right is a hyacinth.  The birds are loud as I walk in the mornings.  I love this season of rebirth and renewal.  I just turned in my Christmas book and I'm working on something new.  I come to my computer each day with that same springtime sense of potential...anything can happen!!  And since I'm working on one of my comedies, it probably will!

Now, this is Erie, so I know we'll have at least one more snow.  Local legend has it that St. Patrick's Day generally means a late season snow storm (although at this moment, weather.com is calling for 33 degrees and only a 10% chance of snow).   But even if it snows, St. Patrick's Day seems to herald the official start of spring here on the lake.  It's a day when everyone's a little Irish.  A day when green isn't simply a color that's coming back to life in our gardens and lawns...its the color everyone's wearing.  A day when you can get Guinness at almost any bar in town! (As a Guinness fan, that's a good thing!)

So, Sláinte, everyone!  I hope spring is arriving where you are and that even if you're still snowed in, you remember that spring is just around the corner!  I hope this season gives you that same sense of potential and glee that it gives me.  Anything's possible!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day...and spring!

Holly


A St. Patrick's Day Gift for you all:

I've tried my hand at publishing a short story trilogy this year.  I gave Nothing But Love away for Christmas, Nothing But Heart away for Valentine's and my springtime/St. Patrick's Day gift is the final book, my first St. Patrick's day romance, Nothing But Luck.  It stand alone, so even if you didn't read the other two, it's fine.  And it's free for Kindle this weekend, Saturday the 16th, Sunday the 17th and Monday the 18th.  So mark your calendars and stop in and pick it up before you go get that Guinness!  (And I know that many of you have other types of eReaders.  The entire series will be out next year for those platforms.)

Nothing But Luck