Winter is Almost Over

Winter is almost over! Well, that’s what the calendar says, anyway. We have about 3 inches of old snow, slowly melting in the backyard.

It was 19 degrees yesterday morning, 26 today.

And old ice still lingers on Arlington Pond.

We are supposed to have another snowstorm Monday night. In the paper they were talking about how many snow days the schools have used so far this year, and the article concluded, “…but its only March….”.

It’s a funny time of year. In general I love the drama of winter, but by now I’m sick of it. I’m tired of my winter clothes, tired of wearing boots, tired of being stuck inside. New Hampshire’s gentle beauty is hidden under dirty snow and trash left over from last fall.

And hopefully my red-stemmed dog wood wasn’t damaged by the snow plow…

BUT! The sun is shining brightly this morning!

The little vernal pools are forming in the wetlands, even though they are still covered in ice.

The snow on the strawberry bed has melted, and the deep green leaves of the plants beneath have been revealed.

I used these special winter protective boxes to shelter my roses this year. I have started tearing the boxes open (you are supposed to gradually expose the plants to the elements once temperatures are staying above 10 degrees). It doesn’t appear that my roses have endured much in the way of winter damage.

And look! The clematis is actually producing the very beginnings of new leaves!

I know we have a good month of cold weather in front of us. But (hopefully at least) the days of zero and minus degrees are behind us, and there SHOULDN’T be any more surprise foot deep snows either. And I expect that when we get back from Germany I just might have the beginnings of spring flowers blooming along the driveway.