Every winter I worry in the back of my mind, "Maybe this is the year spring won't come!" Okay, logically I know that's pretty unlikely, but sometimes the arrival of spring seems like such a miraculous thing and winter just seems to dig in its heels so hard, and I do wonder if spring will ever come. But finally, I've been seeing some signs!
Bare feet in the warm soil is a sure sign of changing seasons!
The firewood Clay laboriously chopped at the cabin, brought home, and stacked on the patio has been steadily dwindling; I made my last fire the other day. Thankfully the mornings have been warm enough now that I haven't missed the daily fires burning in the stove.
And the final harvest of last year's crops means it's time to make room for new ones! We let some of our carrots winter over, hoping to get some of the "candy carrots" that Elliot Coleman talks about. They are definitely sweet and crisp. And it was so fun to have something edible to dig up when the urge to be out rooting around in the soil struck.
We even had some volunteer New Zealand Spinach up and ready! Love those optimistic little guys.
And, of course, the classic sign of spring: the freak snowstorm! This happened only a couple of days after the barefot-in-the-garden day. Luckily it was just a minor setback, turning to rain and puddles by the afternoon, and spring has continued to plug along, bringing us warmer and warmer, bright and sunny days.
And yes, green things are finally beginning to tentatively and bravely poke their pointy green hats out of the soil! The brave bulbs, always the first to test the air, are the surest sign that spring is, indeed, on its way.
