by “Mad” Jack Hanks

Wellington, Colo.

Gentle readers, there are a lot of things that I could wish for. It’s kinda fun to wish for things ain’t it. When we wish for things, we just sort of drift off into a daydream and imagine all sorts of good things happening to us.

Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I almost imagine the hairline I had when I was a young man. It ain’t there, but all the while, it was fun to imagine what it would be like and how I would look with a full head of hair again.

Today I was out watering trees around the place. It was a balmy 56 degrees with just a slight breeze out of the north, and I imagined that it was April instead of February. I wished that spring was already here and there was no more firewood to split and no more ice to break and a body could be outside all day without fighting the wind and the cold.

It has been so dry this winter that every mild day that comes along, I try to put a little water on our trees to keep them going until spring does finally arrive. We have had drought the last 2 1/2 years, and I’m wishin’ that we will get some big wet snows in March and rain or snow in April.

I have to think back to the three years we spent in the mountains and remember how desperate everybody was to have spring arrive. Mountain living can be a little taxing when you are in big snow country and it’s always cold and you don’t see the ground from before Thanksgiving until the middle of April. You just do whatever ya have to do and pray for an early spring.

While I was watering the trees I noticed a couple of birds trying to overhaul an old nest in one of the trees. Could it possibly be that those birds know something that we don’t know? I know, I know, it’s gonna be cold and windy for a good many weeks yet. I’ll be haulin’ in firewood and bustin’ ice until I’ve about had a gut full of winter and then when spring does arrive, I’ll appreciate it that much more. That’s the way things are supposed to work, ain’t it?

I do have to admit that I do like to rear back in the ole Lazy Boy next to the wood stove on a cold night and read a good book or run my fingers through my … my thinning hair. Dang, I wish I had a head full of hair with a good strong spring wind a blowin’ it down into my eyes!

While I’m wishin’, I’m wishin’ we all get our fair measure of moisture this spring until we all purt near drown.

Stay tuned, check yer cinch on occasion and I’ll c. ya.