Kentucky in the Springtime

I'm not sure there is anything better on earth than Kentucky in the springtime. It was this month two years ago that I arrived here. I never planned to live here. I never planned to stay here, but I have really fallen in love with the area and way of life, especially in the spring.

The thing I love the most is that is comes out of nowhere. It was a very, very rough winter. We spent more than a month in below freezing temperatures and every week there was another "snow storm" that meant at least two days doing stories about how one to two inches of snow are putting life at a standstill. Then, out of nowhere, it is sunny, warm and green. Everything is green.

In Ohio, in Cleveland, it seems like nothing turns green until June. Here, it gets warm, rains once and everything turns green. It really makes the days so much more pleasant. I need as much pleasantry as I can get too because spring may mean beauty, but it also means the crazies are out. There are a lot of shootings, car accidents, deaths. When the weather is warm there are a lot of unpleasant things happening. In the last three weeks, I've covered the deaths and funerals of 10 Mennonites in Cumberland County, the deaths of 5 people, including a 4, 3, and 20 month old in Metcalfe County and today I was in court where a man took a plea deal and was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering three people in the last 30 years. Not easy.

Luckily, when I get home, there is time to walk the dog, the sun is up late, the seeds in my patio garden are starting to sprout. The city is full of activities too. The Farmer's Market is open, horses are racing at Keeneland. That's where I was Saturday, with 43 thousand other people. The place was packed! But still fun.

The warm weather also helped me accomplish one thing I've been meaning to do for two years. Take pictures. Friday I was off work and the weather was so nice Greg and I went around town and took a few pictures. Triangle Park, the Kentucky Theater, Thoroughbred Park. This one is my favorite though. It's right in the center of downtown where a huge Marriott hotel called Centerpoint was supposed to currently be standing. Instead, they knocked down a bunch of historic buildings, planted grass and put a fence around it so no one could use the grass. Who knows, it may look like that forever. I just love the bright blue sky, the green bluegrass and the aweseome buildings.

Overall, springtime in Kentucky reminds me that there is just so much simple beauty out there. That is something that is always worth the wait of winter.