march first

Yesterday I took a solo hike around our property.  The single digit temps made my chest ache as I pumped up the hills.  The below zero windchill made me hide my face in my scarf as I crested the ridge.  The garden is as deep in snow as ever.  There was not a single sign of sap flowing.  It was quiet and cold.

Two years ago Iris learned to ride her bike in sweatshirt weather the second week of March.  A week after that is was 80 degrees in Wisconsin.  Last year on this same weekend, we tapped the maples.

But this long cold winter is all the talk.  Everywhere you go, every last one of us wondering when it will break.  But inside me there is that voice still rooting for winter.  Oh how I love her.  Even this one, restless as we all are.

At this point I may be one of the few, but I'll happily take another few weeks by the fire.  I'll ski another time or two, throw some more pots of soup on the stove, snuggle in the flannel sheets, and revel in the stark clean beauty of winter.

You know that season spring, and once she sets her mind to it, there will be no stopping her.   I'm sure I'll be ready when she comes, but for now this lovely winter still reigns, and there is more knitting to do.

Have a wonderful wintery week!