It may only just be the end of January tomorrow, but I feel like this winter has gone on long enough. Here in New York we've had snow pretty much every other day since November. If it's not been falling thick and hard, it's been blanketed and frozen from the last storm. I've never known snow like this. I've never known cold like this - it hasn't been above freezing during the day for weeks. We gave up clearing the pathway sometime late December and just gave into the soft crunch under foot every morning. The birds are all so active this time of year. So I'm trying hard to keep my feeders full and my suet supply stocked. The thing is I love winter.
When Fall starts dwindling I get so excited at the prospect of the first snow, the sparkling ground and snow laden pines fill me with so much joy. Our property here is just under an acre consisting of a large lawned piece at the front and a wood of Maples at the rear. From the end of Spring when the last of the dogwood and cherry blossoms have fallen - it's pretty much green central station. Green trees, green grass, green bushes.. it's hard to grow flowers well at the front because of our resident deer families. So I welcome that roll into the colorful Autumn oranges, and then the white out that follows. But after three straight months of white, I find myself once again craving the green. Everything looks so dead at this point, with no twinkling white Christmas lights to give it that joyful glow.
I planted my seeds the night before last. Broccoli, Kale, Watermelon, Zinnia, Sunflower, Moon Flower, Morning Glories... That gave me a bit of a boost, the thought of what's to come in a few months when the snow has gone, and the world wakes up again. but the children look so cute in their mittens and hats, thick winter coats and snow boots, I think I need to take a walk in the mountains to grasp the beauty of what's still here, because even though my love for winter is hiding, the sparkle is still twinkling.
