You know the old rhyme: “April showers bring May flowers.” Where I live in southwestern Ohio, April showers bring … mud. Lots of mud.
We’ve had a horribly wet spring thus far. Last week, we got about four inches of rain. Ditches and creeks and rivers have flooded their banks. Puddles of water cover large swathes of property. Even the Canada geese are tired of it. And the less said about the souply slurry of mud and manure that is my barnyard, the better.
This morning, winter returned with an inch of snow. I hop my magnolia, loaded with buds, won’t decide to give up the ghost. It’s proven pretty hardy thus far, so I have high hopes that this cold snap is just a temporary setback.
I blame inclement weather for the lackluster attendance at the 10th Annual Spring Craft Show hosted by the Logan School District in Logan, Ohio on Saturday. The gentleman who invited me to participate as a vendor also invited several other authors who were at the Hocking Hills Book Fair three weeks earlier. The event was held at the Hocking Hills Retreat Center, an interesting building constructed of fabric stretched over steel ribs. The building is reputed to be able to withstand hurricanes due to its ability to flex, although southern Ohio doesn’t get many hurricanes. (Ohio does get tornadoes and high winds.)
Repeat vendors from previous years’ craft shows said the 2025 spring event suffered from lower attendance than ususal. All of us blamed the inclement weather. The organizer expressed confidence that the fall craft show would enjoy much better attendance. If invited, I’ll consider going.
I was able to restock my inventory for the craft show, including having copies of The Bounty: Gerlaugh, hot off the press (or so to speak). In an unusual twist of trend, FOCUS was not my best-selling book.
My next two events will be in May. The first is the First Friday Art Walk held Friday evening on Main Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues in Beech Grove, Indiana. Beech Grove is a suburb of Indianapolis. It takes me about the same amount of time to drive there as it does to the Appalachian foothills: Athens, Nelsonville, Logan, etc. The Beech Grove Artist Collective organizes the Art Walk; this year they’re charging a nominal vendor registration fee. I’ve had mixed results at that event, but attending as a vendor enables me to kill two proverbial birds with one stone: selling directly to the public and visiting with my brother and his wife. (They live in Indianapolis.)
The second event in May is the Urbana Second Saturday street fair. Running from April through November. I sighed up for five of the street fairs last year, which was a mistake. This year, I signed up for May only. Last year, the May event was the most successful. I’m hoping this year’s participation will equal or exceed last year’s.
Then I have nothing as yet scheduled until August. That doesn’t mean I won’t be busy. My son is getting married. My husband and I met yesterday with the bride’s mother, father, and stepmother to hash out those last wedding details. I’ve already purchaesd a mother-of-the-groom dress, and my husband bought a new suit. As the wedding will be held outside in mid-June, we are hoping the weather will cooperate. In Ohio, fair weather is not a given. Ever.
The weekend following, we’ll be traveling to Niagara, New York to attend another wedding.
Sometime soon, I really hope to get back in the saddle. Yes, the actual saddle. On a horse. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing, which includes getting the next book out. Look for Light of the Twin Moons, the sixth and final book in my Twin Moons Saga to be published this summer.
