Spring

Today, it hit 60 in the sun. God it felt good to be outside. The littlest one and I raked leaves, moved wood around, laid down cardboard to make new beds and picked up the bits of trash until recently, were covered by snow. We watched quietly as robins, grackles and other unknown birds hopped around with bits of twigs and string in their beaks, surreptitiously flitting away to build their hideaway nests.

Spring in Vermont is kind of hard. Freezing nights, cold days, mud. Sugaring alleviates it a bit, but only when the weather is "just so". Skies tend to get cloudy, sun is still a bit scarce. Ice and mud everywhere and nothing much to do outside. Yet...

My friend Cheryl says it's a time of transition and you only deserve to enjoy the summer if you suffered through "mud season". My view isn't quite as harsh, but summer is definitely appreciated after weeks of mud, ice and brown grass. So, here it is. April 3rd. I've planted my eggplants in recycled plastic containers and my calendar says tomatoes are next. A couple of the farms around here have begun selling their greenhouse greens and in about a month, the days will be warm enough to wear short sleeves if not short pants and the crab apple out back will be in full bloom.

Happy Spring!