Our city suddenly looks like it was created on a Lite-Brite screen. After months of endlessly lush green leaves and landscaping and with the calendar creeping closer and closer to Thanksgiving, it was starting to seem as if we weren’t going to get any fall color at all here in Raleigh this year.  But then this week rolled around and….BAM….here it is.  Just like that.  Beautiful, amazing colors everywhere.  I hope they hang around a while.  I want to enjoy them as long as possible…..before they turn brown and I have to get out my rake.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Fall leaves in Raleigh, N.C.

My daughter and I had such an impressive experience with this physician group yesterday that I feel compelled to share our experience and my opinion that they are a valuable asset to our community!

Triangle Orthopaedic Associates opened up their 8 local offices yesterday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00  p.m.  to provide the health physicals necessary for local high school athletes in order to compete this academic year.   For a $10 fee, student athletes had their basic level of health checked and their forms signed.

The beauty of the assembly-line style of wellness checks was  quite an amazing sight, too.  Get your eyes checked in this room.  Walk down the hall to get your blood pressure checked.  Height and weight in this room.  Doctors waving the next kid into an exam room for the final check.  While in the exam room with the physician, there was no rush, however.  The doctor asked many questions, offered advice, and made us feel as if my daughter was his only patient.

Now, of course, not being completely naieve, I realize there’s a business angle to this community service by Triangle Orthopaedic Associates, in that if these student athletes experience a sports injury, they will be predisposed to visit one of Triangle’s physicians for treatment.  But a smart business practice does not detract from the generous donation of offering your expertise to the community in this way.

Oh, did I mention that they are donating the $10 fee back to the athletes’ schools?  Win, win, win.

Well, I have to admit that it kind of seems like a ghost town around here.  And with so many vacation areas within an easy drive of Raleigh, I don’t blame anyone for heading out on the long 4th of July weekend.

But there are so many things going on in Raleigh this weekend, that it would be quite a feat to be able to go to all of them.  We started out our weekend by FINALLY making it over to the recently renovated North Carolina Museum of Art.  And I swear we were there with at least 95% of the people who remained in town for the weekend!  All of whom were as amazed and impressed as we were.

Today, though, we’re heading out to witness a naturalization ceremony on the steps of the capitol, check out the capitol celebration, tour the Joel Lane Museum House, join in my neighborhood’s parade and potluck, and then making the tough choice between the fireworks display in Cary with the North Carolina Symphony or watching the N.C. State Fairgrounds fireworks from a spot on an overlooking hill with lots of friends.   And there’s tons of stuff we’re not going to make it to.   There’s just not enough time to do it all.

We have spent so many July 4ths laying on the beach that we had no idea so much stuff was going on at home.  I’m glad we’re here this year.  Instead of a lazy Independence Day, ours is going to be action-packed for a change.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

Well, summer’s back already.  Yeah, I know today is only May 2nd.  But today’s forecast is a MUGGY 94 degrees, with the mercury dipping down into the low 70s overnight.  Our house has been cold for months, so we’ve kept our windows closed over the last few days in an attempt to enjoy the chill for a change.  Our efforts were in vain, I’m afraid.  It’s hot in here today. But after experiencing the coldest winter on record around here, I am not complaining…….yet.

That’s Life in Raleigh.

We have an extra season here in Raleigh, N.C., in addition to the standard spring, summer, fall, and winter.  That’s pollen season.  And our pollen season this year is an extreme one, with special thanks to our plentiful pine trees.

All the trees and plants dump yellow and green dust all over our city all at the same time.  The air is thick with it and the ground and cars are covered with it.  Water is swirling with it, from puddles to ponds and lakes.  The only thing you can do is keep your windows closed, cover your mouth when you sneeze, and wait for pollen season to end.

Pollen season is something you have to see to believe.

That’s Life in Raleigh…….in the springtime.

Pollen on my front porch

So we have our own weather forecasting groundhog here in Raleigh, North Carolina.  And on Groundhog Day 2010, we celebrated when our Sir Walter Wally predicted an early spring. But unfortunately for us, Wally got it all wrong this year.  No early spring here.

As a matter of fact, tomorrow is the first official day of spring.  And guess what?  Tomorrow is the first day it will feel finally like spring around here, too.  It’s about time.  So break out the flip-flops, peel back the convertible tops, and enjoy this spring day that’s been a long time coming.

That’s Life in Raleigh.