Of Fools & Flowers

Emily Tipping picture

Last month, I wrote about the old saw about lions and lambs in March, noting that around here, the month arrived in a decidedly lamblike fashion. We’ve yet to see if Easter morning dawns in a lion- or lamblike manner (though a lamb would surely be very appropriate), but what I can tell you is that all that early warmth, besides delivering tornadoes in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois during a month when we still generally expect snow to be covering the ground, messed up yet another old saw … you know, the one about April showers and May flowers.

Daffodils in these parts are usually in full force around mid-April. I know that because they generally coincide with my kid’s birthday, about smack-dab in the middle of the month. But now, not only are daffodils wide open, the magnolia trees have already bloomed. Of course, because they did it when it was still technically winter, a hard freeze and light snow came and turned the blooms brown on the branch.

Will we eventually shift our aphorisms? Will February or even January be in like a lion and out like a lamb? Will February showers bring March flowers? Or is it just a strange year, with weather influenced by an El Niño effect? 

I suppose that remains to be seen, but what fools are we if we sit on our hands? 

Whether you believe in manmade climate change or not, shifting your facility’s operations toward sustainable goals is a net good, resulting in less health-harming emissions inside and out, and, hopefully, eventually enabling things to run in a way that places less stress on the budget. To that end, this month we’ve got some advice from facilities that have taken those steps in a feature story on eco-friendly design. 

Other feature stories will also help you ensure things are running smoothly in your aquatic operations by proactively addressing maintenance needs, bring adventure to your space with climbing walls, and ninja and challenge courses, provide education and wayfinding through well-
designed signage, and choose the best sports flooring for your multipurpose activity spaces or dedicated fitness and gymnasium spaces.
 

Cheers!

Emily Tipping
Editorial Director,
Recreation Management
[email protected]

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