Flowers are blooming, rain is in the air and yard work is back; don’t be fooled, April is here

Fortunately, I was able to survive another April Fool’s Day. Actually, I have never really been a ‘fooler’, so to speak. Nor do I tend to get very worked up for fooling done to me that day.

April Fool’s Day makes for a good time to hit up YouTube and play The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again. But that usually turns into a 30 minute or an hour project. Once you play that song, YouTube has to go and suggest other songs, which, of course, you haven’t heard for a while and end up playing. And so on and so on and so on.

Speaking of YouTube, Crystal has discovered this thing called an Auxiliary cord. You connect your phone to the car stereo and, presto, it is playing over the speakers in the vehicle. I realize these things have probably been out for quite a while, most likely several years. But I just learned of them recently. All the way to Glen Elder and back I had to listen to her songs. Then to Pratt and back a couple weeks later.

At least it’s not bad music. It is not the good stuff from the 70’s and 80’s, but it is tolerable. I can’t recall her playing any Boston, Lynard Skynyrd, or Steve Miller Band. No Kansas, The Who or the Eagles. Queen did make the list, though.

Anyway, enjoy April, it is one of the best months of the year. The weather is generally nice, more times than not Easter falls in April and fantasy baseball season gets going in full swing. My sister’s birthday is in April as well – the 13th. It can fall on Easter or it could fall on a Friday – you know as in Friday the 13th.

Happy early Birthday just in case I forget Rhonda. I am pretty good at remembering though. My phone tells me so.

Prep Thoughts

Friday is track meet day here in Great Bend. The Panthers will be hosting their own Invitational. While it is good for the parents, boosters, and such to have the meet in town, coaches tend not to like it. There is a lot more work that goes into a home meet than getting on a bus and traveling.

I will be among those doing our best to help out Lyles Lashley and his staff. He assigned me to help out in pole vault. Probably because he knew I did the event in high school. And he knew I wasn’t very good at it. I think I maybe went 10-6 once. Maybe. I know the big meets that started at 10-0 didn’t have me around for very long. Usually three tries and put the pole back on the bus.

But it took up practice time. Time I didn’t have to be running. So I liked the pole vault.

Take the opportunity to watch the track team while they are in town. Things get going at 3:30 pm.

Former Barton Athlete/Coach update

While it’s not a former Barton coach or player, let’s give some kudos to former Jayhawk Conference coach Chris Beard for making it to the Final Four.

The Texas Tech coach coached at Fort Scott during the 1999-2000 season, his first gig as a head coach. He guided the Greyhounds to a 19-12 record that season – the first winning record in eight years at the time. From there he went to Seminole State and went 25-6.

Of course that 19-12 record took place on the Kemper Arena floor. For several years, the home court for Fort Scott in Arnold Arena had the old Kemper Arena floor. It said so in big letters with the old logo. I’m pretty sure it would have been there during the time Beard stalked the sidelines.

Arnold Arena itself is quite unique if you’ve never been there. A hallway separates the basketball court from the rodeo arena. Makes for an interesting smell at times.

And Finally

With the warmer weather rolling in, it is the beginning of yard season.

There are some good signs about the yard already. The tulips are up. The flowers in the row behind them have already bloomed. I think they are maybe hyacinths. The peonies are poking through the ground as well.

But for the most part, right now the yard looks like a gangly teenager.

The Bermuda grass hasn’t taken off yet. In shady areas, where the Bermuda doesn’t grow well, the patches of blue grass are nice and green. Then there are those dad gum purple flowers. Purple weeds. Whatever they are. I know I need to remember to treat them in the fall with a pre-emergent. But in the fall I always forget about it. The yards looks good in the fall.

Come the heat of summer, the Bermuda is nice and green, the purple weeds are gone and the yard generally looks pretty good. For the most part anyway.

But the early days of April for Bermuda grass people are definitely the early teenage years, full of acne and awkwardness.

I ran the lawn mower across it Sunday. I say ran the mower because there wasn’t a lot of cutting going on. I knocked the top off those purple flower weeds mostly. I had to watch closely where the wheel track was from the previous trip around the yard to know exactly where I needed to be. There wasn’t a lot of grass being cut.

I haven’t edged things yet. That will be in the next few days. At that point I will drop the mower bed a notch and hopefully give the Bermuda a trimming. Follow that with an edging and at least I will feel like I accomplished something other than cutting the top of the purple flower weeds off.

It may not look like I did much, but I will feel better. If nothing else, it gets me out of the house.

But the first official mowing of the spring is under the belt.

Now, it’s just wait for the warmer weather to green the yard up.

It’s just wait until I can break out my summer mowing outfit -- shorts, black socks, an open button shirt and crocs. I know the neighborhood just waits for those days. Especially early in the season when my legs are still blindingly white.

Ah yes ... winter is now officially in the rear view mirror.