Spring is HERE! Sort of...

So, it is spring. At least, that is what the calendar says. You wouldn't really know it around here. Sure, the snow is melted, mostly. And the ground is thawed, mostly. But it sure isn't green yet. Or warm.

There is a goat due to burst here shortly. That is a definitely a sign of spring. (Note the ice that refuses to melt right behind her.)

So is the fact that spring cleaning is in full swing. Everywhere I look there is mud to wade through, poo and moldy hay piles that need composting, pine needles that need raking, pine cones and pine branches that need picking up, fences that need mending, compost that needs turning and things that got blown out of place by the gale force winds that accompanied the snow this winter.

In case you haven't noticed, NONE of that is clean work. Or light work because nothing is really dry yet. The ground may be thawed, but it is a soggy bog of mud. Each step makes an audible sucking sound. It's gross.

I will be so excited when the ground dries up a bit, things green up and bud, and I can see if my raspberries survived the goat attack last fall. Till then, I'll be outside with muck fork in hand. When it's all cleaned up, I may have to throw a party just to celebrate the fact that I'm done.

Snow Day!

After a strangely dry start to this winter Montana has received a healthy dose of Jack Frost’s best fluffy white stuff.
Yesterday morning we awoke to a fresh 2 inches of fluff. Just enough to freshen a dreary dead landscape.

The goat’s weren’t too put off by the snow.
In town, the trees took on an eerie quality. Their branches a high contrast jumble looking like dancing serpents.

And the snow kept falling all day. By the time we got home a good 8 inches had fallen on our neighborhood. We had to shovel a spot for our car before we could park!

When I woke up this morning, the snow had stopped falling. There’s over a foot of snow on the ground... and on our picnic table, and on the grill, and on the everything. So sorry, the barbeque has been canceled So has school and work. (shucks!)

It’s snowing again now. I wonder how high that pile will get? And what am I going to do with myself today? Time to play!