What a time to think about spring

The sky is cold and dreary today, but the sun peeks out from those gray clouds every now and then. Light snow fell last evening, thus the need for the snow shovel this morning. My husband cleaned off our driveway and sidewalk and did some extra shovelling too—for neighbours who cannot do it.

I reread a fellow writer’s blog this morning, her first post for the New Year. She’s a gardener, like me. Perhaps she was rushed, for gardenchatter posted her gardening goals for 2013 that included growing something from seed, “plant a tree, grow a few veggies and share them with friends.”

It was short, but enough to get me thinking of spring when the snow is gone, the frost is out of the ground, and leaves start to open on the trees. Imagining the tulips I planted in the fall popping out of the ground and sending up those long thin stems, and then, behold, a pink and white bloom. Oh, there’s more that will sprout and flower in my garden in March and April, but it’s too cold for them now.  After all, there are still snowflakes in the air and snow on the ground.

Too cold for me too, some days, but just the right weather for skiers, such as members of my own family. Suited up with ski jacket, pants, hat, goggles and the right mittens, they’re ready for the ski hill and a day out in the cold. The scene is surely magnificent atop Mont-Tremblant where two of our family members will ski next week.

I’d be untruthful if I said I didn’t like walking on a brisk Canadian winter day. I go for a walk with a friend or on my own, bundled up against the cold, but not at 30 below and not for more than 40 minutes, although one can get some great photographs of winter on this kind of days, if the camera does not get fogged up.

The sky clears again and I can see some blue sky around those clouds. The small ceramic birdhouse, made by my friend, sways on its hanger in the wind, where the temperature is 16 degrees Celsius (below Zero Fahrenheit) that probably feels a mite colder.

I can dream of spring, of seeds and growing plants, but perhaps I’ll bundle up and get some fresh air and exercise on this cold January day before the sun is gone. After all, I do not want to rush my life away.

Indeed I went out, camera in hand, into the wind that was colder than 16 degrees …

walked to the nearby park where few come on these cold days,

where there are some footprints of children who’d come by…

and a woman walking her dog …

Sadie, who came to say hello and wait for a pat.

Guess I’ll enjoy winter while it’s here and wait for spring.