As the Snow Melts...Springter is Here

We are fully into our early spring here, which is quite simply - a mess!  Lots of rain, lots of mud, and lots of gray drippy skies.  But the happy thought is that the snow is melting, and once the snow melts and ground thaws, then the happy faces of spring will be with us.  For now, we must just endure the messiness...

I took Annie and Riley for a walk and now the gravel road is completely free of ice and snow. The snowbanks are dirty too, all signs of spring melt.

Riley still thinks that walking herself is more fun (by holding her leash in her mouth lol), but when she starts to try to walk Annie, then we have problems!

Someone needed to be taught a lesson, and Annie gently growled at her to let her know that she is the boss, and does not need to be walked!



So our walks have turned into more of a circus than anything!  If we get a few uninterrupted steps in, that's progress!

 You can see the snow is gradually melting away, and patches of bare ground are appearing.

 

Spring is coming, it really is.  We just have to be patient while the ground thaws, and that is the hardest part.  So I got busy planning for spring!  I had begun this garden journal last year, but it needed some more work.  I used Heat-n-Bond to adhere a fabric cover to the little journal, and then "spiffied" it up with some scrapbooking stickers, lace, ribbon, buttons and a shabby rose.

Last year I kept track of when my seeds were planted, and when they were harvested along with a chart recommending dates of planting in our area.  It was interesting to go back and see that I am approaching the date for early planting.  However, I am not sure if I am going to start so early this year. I think I am going to wait until April because our spring this year is so much later than it was last year.

I kept every package of seeds I sowed, and then photocopied them (4 at a time) onto plain paper, cut them out and pasted them in my journal.  I decided this would be the easiest way to track how my seeds did, and which companies or particular plants did better than others.  I kept fairly good records, but hopefully this coming year with my journal in place and ready to go, my records will be even more precise.

Some years ago we were blessed to live by a neighbor who had gardened all of his life.  He was in his 90s and still gardening. He showed me all of his gardening journals that he had kept, handwritten, all those many years.  He could tell me which year was the best or worst, what weather conditions were, and what varieties grew best in the area.  I've always been inspired since then to try to keep better track of my gardening efforts, and I hope to continue to work towards that this year.  I still have notes to make in my journal from last year.  I took pictures of my garden in various stages and had the pictures printed in 4x4 format so I could write my thoughts beside the pictures.

Then I needed to write our sweet little child a letter whom we sponsor through Gospel For Asia. We are not able to send anything bigger than flat things that will fit in the envelope.  I decided to make him his own bookmark with his initial on it, along with my letter to him.  I can tell how much he has grown over the past several years that we have sponsored him, and he tells me that he is playing football now, whereas before he would tell me how much he likes to color {smiles}.  He always tells me that he prays for our family. And we do likewise for him.  It is such a special communication and blessing to be a part of this little boy's life in India.

On my way into town, I saw this rushing stream created by all the snow melt.  Normally there is little to no water here, but in the spring, things change quickly.

This year is posing a bit of difficulty with water runoff.  Since we had a very wet fall last year, the ground was very wet, and then we had an extremely cold freeze in November before we had any snow.  This has created a deep frost layer in the ground that is preventing the water from absorbing into the ground, and now it is just running off.  This year is a bad year for our county, and on Thursday our county was placed under emergency protection because of so many road wash-outs and flooding.

And of course the pot holes have turned the road into an axle disaster! Nothing like a road full of pot holes to keep drivers within the speed limit, lol!

The deep snow we had this winter is slowly but surely melting, and while I am sad to see it go... I am looking forward to bright green hues again soon...

The call of the ducks and geese are filling the air again... and the open water in the ponds are full of geese once again.  Such are the seasons of life... passing so quickly!

It is this in-between time of year, when it is not really spring, and yet not really winter, that one must appreciate the beauty one finds, wherever it is.  And these happy geese swimming in open waters free of ice made my heart happy to watch them enjoy the day.

Springter... as I like to call this season... has a beauty all of its own :)
 

The cold wind blowing off the snow-covered mountains, despite the sunshine was a cool reminder that the mountains know nothing of spring.. yet!  They will not lose their snow until May or June.

Cats have perfected the art of sleep!  A cold rainy day makes for perfect naps...

And this sweet face... has perfected the art of sleeping too! She plays hard, and sleeps hard too.

A peek of our yard... quite a mess!  Time for rubber boots!

Animals know nothing of boots, gloves, hats, scarves or coats.  They are always prepared, no matter what weather they face.  I never cease to be amazed at their resiliency in all the seasons and weather!

Happy songs breaking forth from Mr. Pepper's heart in the bright sunshine that lit up the afternoon skies.

Remember my 6 orphaned chicks that I took in this past December? Well, here they are.  Three hens and three roosters.  Anyone need a banty rooster?  {smiles}  We have reached our max capacity for roosters here, even though they sure are handsome fellows!

My garden is beginning to look a little lighter, but still, the snow melt has a long way to go yet before I can see if any of my tulips will come up this spring :)

We are all looking forward to spring, but I think my chickens are most glad that the weather is warmer, the snow is melting, and green grass surely can't be far off!

So there you have ... this in-between season that swings wildly between winter and spring hence my calling this season "springter", and yet the promise of spring is there... and while I forgave winter last week... I'm ready this week to bid winter goodbye and welcome late spring with all her loveliness, but I know we must endure early spring weather first, and so we are doing that as patiently as we can.  :)