end of winter top ten

Tomorrow begins the month of March (which brings sugar sap season, spinach sampling from the cold frame, snow melt and other sure signs of spring). But last weekend we received 4 inches of the most beautiful, fluffy snow you can imagine. Just to remind us that, after all, we do live in Wisconsin. So before I turn my attention fully to the coming of spring here are my top 10 for the close of winter:

1- wool rug cleaning weather (new snow, 25 degrees or colder)
2- frosty windowpanes in the morning "fairy tracks from night-time dancing"
3- tea and toast by the fireside
4- animal tracks in the pasture and woods
5- starting to pull the last of the root crops from the cellar, knowing their goodness has held us through
6- the need to knit with warm wool
7- roly-poly bundled children
8- time to slow down, dream, create and plan
9- hearty meals, candle-light, early bedtimes
10- how at just the right time the days grow noticeably longer and we begin to feel ready for spring

Happy first day of March.