Earlier this spring, my conversations with area residents almost always came around to the weather, mostly summer predictions.

I heard some of the following: “drier and warmer than usual,” “worse than last summer,” “hot,” “not much irrigation water,” and more along the same line.

Summer hasn’t officially arrived yet, so who knows what will happen? Now that May is nearly over, I’m reflecting on the happenings here at Pipi’s Pasture, both weather-related and otherwise; if nothing else, I can refer to the column next year to compare 2022 to 2023.

One thing is for sure, there’s been a lot of wind, and for the past few days, the weather has been cool with at least some moisture. From what I’m hearing from area residents, the irrigation water seems to be holding up, and the summer pasture ponds have water in them—at least in some parts of the county.

Here at Pipi’s Pasture this last week in May 2022, I’m enjoying the pretty blossoms on the crab apple tree just outside the dining room windows. Remarkably, they survived the recent snowfall that blanketed them. Now new buds are even showing up on the branches. The snow and frost didn’t seem to bother the blossoms on the lilac, apple, cherry, and chokecherry trees either.

I have been enjoying some pink tulips that were in bloom along the back fence — until a couple of days ago, that is. The deer that usually inhabit Pipi’s Pasture have been gone for a couple of months so I let my guard down and didn’t spray the tulips with deer repellant. I looked up from where I was writing the other day and happened to notice a doe and fawn — right along the back fence. Too late — before I could blink, the tulips disappeared.

Although I have purchased several bottles of deer repellant spray, I haven’t taken the time to pick out flowers, tomatoes, and peppers yet — something I really enjoy. Even the vegetables will be planted in pots on and around the front porch — no garden this year. It’s just as well that I haven’t planted anything because it has been too cold.

There must be several batches of kittens (maybe as many as six of them) in granddaughter Megan’s show stock trailer that’s parked in Pipi’s Pasture because I notice several mama cats coming and going.

It amazes me how they gain entry into the trailer by first jumping up on the trailer bumper and then squeezing themselves through the spaces between the trailer slats. Soon the mama cats will be moving the kittens closer to the cat food. Now that the deer are back, it’s time to try out Shelly Massey’s mineral tub feeder (a previous column).

May 2022 will soon be history, perhaps with more wind, cooler temperatures, and even a little more moisture than we might have predicted. We wonder what June 2022 will bring.