I don’t imagine that we are all done with winter weather. I wouldn’t dare to hope! I’ve noted blizzards coming through more than once on the first of April, and I often post photos to show my grandchildren that there is still snow to be found well into May. Still, the days are noticeably longer, and the Fox Lake Road is a river of mud. These are dependable signs of the change of seasons. This year, on this first day of spring, the sun is out, and the snow is receding.
Spring brings hope. There will be milder days ahead. The ice will disappear, and we’ll be surrounded by open water again. Flowers will bloom. The garden will warm, ready to accept new plantings. I won’t need to pile on winter layers for my daily walk.
Spring, though, also brings along with it a great deal of work. Just the small patch of back yard revealed by the melting snow shows wheelbarrow loads of leaves, pinecones and small branches to be raked up. The entire lawn, both back and front yards, will need attention. I have 3 agricultural panels, a gift from my cousin Bob, and plans to put them to use. One, I plan to turn into an arch support for my wisteria, since I seem unable to get rid of that unruly vine. The other two, I intend to make into a grape arbor. Then, I can give that grapevine a much needed pruning.
The garden, sorely neglected last year, is in line for a good bit of attention this spring. I have to reset several of the support posts, put up new garden fence, double dig and fertilize my garden beds, pull weeds and put down mulch in the pathways, and prune the raspberries. All before planting…which reminds me that I have not yet even ordered my seeds!
It’s too early to tackle any of that. The ground is still frozen, and much of the yard is still covered in snow. It’s not even warm enough yet to store my winter clothes. What I can do is clear away other things from my “to-do” list, to open up time for those other activities when the time is right.
To that end, I’m giving the house a once-over. When winter’s darkness and cold put me in “hibernation” mode, it’s easy to let things fall into neglect. After awhile, I don’t even notice the dust and clutter! Last week, I got a call from a contractor, who said he’d stop by “in about twenty minutes” with an estimate I’d requested. Suddenly, I saw my surroundings as someone else would see them. I blasted through the downstairs, clearing and tidying. A most productive twenty minutes! Usually, though, I’m pretty lackadaisical about housework. Today, though, I’m paying attention…and doing something about it. Spring is here!
cindyricksgers 
You certainly have a lot of work to look forward to, although maybe looking forward to it isn’t the right word. But looking forward to spring is quite different. Don’t we all feel so much better once the winter has really departed? Here we are enjoying autumn with its changes from day today. But soon it will be winter with all the rain and damp that we experience. For us 8° is cold and so winter sweaters are beginning to appear in the shops and being taken out of winter storage here in my house. The clocks turn back on April one and so we know that winter is not far away.
Hi, Judith, we just turned our clocks forward an hour, to Daylight Savings time, lat week. The dogs and I are still trying to adjust! Every season has it’s blessings, for sure. I think soring is my favorite, for all the promise it holds. Thank you for reading, and for taking the time to comment!