“Springtime in the Rockies”... for those of us who live there we all know what that phrase means... snow. Quite a bit of snow. Often most of the majority of our yearly snowfall occurs in the Spring. The snow of course is punctuated by very warm, Spring-like weather... but those of us old-timers know it is just a ruse... another snow storm is a comin' round the bend. The seesaw weather patterns are enough to drive even the most stable human being scallywonkers. So I keep my eyes out for simple sanity keepers. Here a couple of my favorites:

Color... what I crave now is color. So what a delight it was to discover in several HFS’s packages of mini sweet peppers in jewel shades of red, orange, and even yellow. Yes, the warmest colors of the spectrum and so appreciated this time of year and so good for the B too... especially secretors. And... they are the perfect size to chop up onto a salad, toss into a breakfast stirfry... but mostly I eat them as is, like I would a plum. Very few seeds and almost no membrane in these little beauties. But the color... the color... you B’s know what I mean.

About a week ago, I was hiking in the cañon on one of those warm teaser days when I was astounded to see several Swallowtail butterflies, the first of the season. Obviously blown in by a stray wind along their migratory route, how wonderful it was to watch them fluttering in the warm sun. I realized how I missed their light, erratic movement patterns during the heaviness of winter. I let these delicate creatures lift my weary heart in a skipping dance to the clouds.

Freshly ground flax seed meal is a must this time of year. When I eat yogurt with fresh fruit and flax seed meal first thing in the mornings, my energy stays stable and my mood bright and cheery throughout the day. Not to mention the benefits for your skin, hair and nails...

And... if all else fails on those snowy Spring days, I look out into my garden. I have a Laughing Buddha statue with a big round belly and a huge grin on his face. No matter what the weather, he is always smiling. And he is especially comical with a mantle of snow about his shoulders and a cap of snow on his head... a nice reminder to not take life too seriously.

I can’t help but join him in his grinning.