Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!


You'd never know we're in the midst of winter by looking out the window.  The only snow left on the ground after last week's rainy days are a few stubborn spots where snow slipped into frozen clumps off the garage roof.  With the gusts of wind and naked grass, it feels more like March.  But spring is still 78 days away and the temperature dip over the last 48 hours has begun to refreeze the ground.  This morning the mulch I added to the path to the coop two days ago to help deal with the mud had frozen and it crunched as I made my way along it.  

Still, this respite from the typical days of winter offers the opportunity to walk around the garden and check on things that would normally be sound asleep beneath a foot of snow at this time of year.  The grassy leaves of the saffron crocus I planted earlier in the fall are clustered beneath a rhododendron covered in buds ready to bloom among its evergreen leaves once spring arrives.  And the lilacs, their branches bare, have formed buds that are waiting to swell and burst into leaves and fragrant blooms when the weather warms.

For now I'm enjoying the subtle lengthening of the days, that bit of daylight when I leave the office in the evening.  It doesn't last long, but it's there and it promises warmer days and time spent in the garden.

But everything in its time.  First, there is winter.