A Spring in my Step

As I write this, the snow continues to sit outside and the temperature remains a little chilly.  And yet there’s change in the air!  Snow has been melting.  Earlier I heard the drip drip drip of melting ice from the roof. The sun rises earlier each day and, as a result, I feel less grouchy in the mornings.  I haven’t seen a robin yet, nor have I noticed anything sprouting outside, but I have noticed the growing buds on the cheery tree in front of my apartment.  Maple syrup producers are already hard at work tapping their trees and promoting festivals in the next few weeks.  Inside, my lemon tree is flowering again (not a huge deal as it does this periodically, but it’s enough to make me feel vernal giddiness).  Some of the potted herbs I brought inside before the winter are starting to show new life. In fact, I spent some time recently cutting away dead growth and plucking a few new leaves for my tea.  This will promote fuller growth later in the season.

I haven’t ordered seeds from the catalogs yet.  I’m hoping to soon, but I still worry it’s a bit early for most of the things I want to try.  I could easily start my sugar snap peas outside at the end of the month or early April, I think, but a lot of the other veggies I plan to grow can’t go out until after Memorial Day in late May.  I’m still working on my timing; it seems to be an art.  Start too soon, and you’ll have a ton of baby plants ready to be repotted but not enough room for that procedure until the temperatures go down.  Then you’ll have very skinny, spindly plants!  Start too late and that delays everything, possibly ruining your chances of a good harvest because the summer heat can really put a damper on some crops.

I did, however, plant garlic cloves before the winter.  I’m really curious if anything will come of them.  So far, the ground is too hard and icy to check.  Even the leaves I put over the planted garlic are too hard to fuss with.  More patience will be necessary.

Internally, I’m feeling more creative.  It’s just part of the spring energy, I think.  After the fuss brought on by winter holidays, my crafty side is usually burnt out.  Suddenly I’m feeling a greater urge to sew more.  Baby clothes are my project of choice, but I did recently start a doll – the first I’ve worked on in awhile.  I’m excited to see how it will turn out.

Wherever you are, take a few minutes to notice the signs of spring.  Even if you only find one, it will sure put a spring in your step!