The Minnesota Farm Woman

I keep in touch with friends and family from all over the world via social networking and the internet. This week, everyone seems to be commenting about spring.  In Florida, folks are enjoying the blooms of the dogwood and azalia and planting their tomatoes.  In Kentucky, they are waiting for their flower bulbs to burst forth into bloom and noting the first robin.  Even here in northern Minnesota I noticed the first  small sign of spring:   I have slept for two nights in a row with my electric blanket switched off.  It’s funny how perspectives differ from one end of the country to another.  One southern friend recently commented “Brrrr….it’s 40 degrees outside today.”  I would probably comment “Hooray! It’s 40 degrees outside today!”  I wish I could say that I love winter, but I just can’t. I can only say that I like it until the end of January. I am ready for spring.  Now. I’m ready for cowslips,  a lighter jacket, and baby chicks.  I’m ready for that slight green of the trees that gets brighter every day on my drive to work. I’m ready for the snow covering my garden to turn to mud and the rubber boots I have to wear to get to the chicken coop.  Having spent many years in the south planting my garden around the first of March, my fingers are just itching to dig in the soil. Today I was perusing all the seed catalogs, making my list of what to plant this year, but then had to stop to sweep  another two inches of “partly cloudy with chance of a few flurries” off the front porch.  Living here in God’s country means knowing that we have a few more snowstorms to bear before we can celebrate the spring.  It will be worth the wait.