OK, so, yes--I've been hearing certain intrepid birds sing right along even in the darkest days of winter. Our yard backs up to woods so we're never entirely without birds even on the coldest days. A peep here, a cheep there. Not much, but a reminder that they're around. On the other hand, this winter has been so mild that the robins I've been seeing over the last few weeks are positively pudgy--they've not had a problem finding things to eat this year.
But this morning, there was a slightly different quality to the song. It seems to me, anyway, in my just-emerging-from-my-February-funk-self, that it's happier. More hopeful. Warmer.
Today is our second day in a row of mid-60s weather, after a weekend of snow and freezing rain. I'm just starting to see some buds starting to appear on trees and shrubs (pictured is one of my dwarf Japanese maples). I was checking out my forsythia yesterday. No yellow yet, but a few more days of this--which we're supposed to have--and I'm sure I'll start seeing a little extra color there too.
It'll break our Western New York hearts just a little bit when it snows again, because I'm sure it will. It's not unusual for us to get snow on Mother's Day, frankly, although you get past March and snow doesn't stick around for long. We may whine when we see it, but ultimately it just makes spring all that much more welcome. So I'm definitely a little perkier today--a little giddy, in fact. I can smell spring in the air!
When it comes to slow quilting, I've been poking away at a project I started, by surprise, last week.
I had a whole week to myself last week--sort of a personal retreat. The kids were still away at college, and my husband was out of town on business for the entire week. I missed them all terribly, of course, but it allowed me to set a rhythm for my week that worked for me. Well, me and the dogs. Somehow they wanted to keep being fed and getting to go outside--go figure. In any case, mostly I realized how little TV I watch when left to my own devices. I finished more "Great Courses" lectures, did a lot of reading, and got some more work done on quilt projects. I got just enough social life out of my volunteer commitments and was happy to spend the rest of the week pretty much solo.
My daughter got home from college for her spring break on Friday afternoon, and my husband got home Friday night. And I've not made a lick of progress on my quilt projects since. But today is another day and my daughter has a friend coming over, so they will actually prefer if I stay holed up in my sewing room. So I'm trying to get back into a rhythm today that works around other people.
But it doesn't matter. I can smell spring in the air. I'm good.