Patience, Young Grasshopper

Friday was a wonderful day. The temp was in the mid-50s and the snow visibly disappeared, hour by hour. Saturday morning it snowed a little, and was raw and windy. No problem, Spring was starting Sunday and that was one last mess.

Sunday was another nice day, and the hens were let out of their coop to get their feet in the dirt. Their yard is still snow covered, so we opened the big door on the other side.

 

Oops, you can see our Christmas tree now too!  Doing the dishes later, I glanced out to see a mound of brown at the edge of the yard. It took a few seconds to realize it was hens dustbathing, not a dead bear or deer! I know, I know, but it was one of those brain-clicking-into-gear moments. 

I tried to get a picture, but by then hens were up and jockeying for position.

 

So that was Sunday. Winter is done.  Another season over and a new one begun. Monday it snowed.

Tuesday, it was still snowing, just a little more to top off the 5 inches we now have on the ground.

 The hen dirt bath is in the center of the photo above. Oh well, spring snow disappears quickly. It better because I will not get the snowblower out again. (Unless we have a freak storm in April like we did that one year) As I was taking these pictures, I heard the snow sliding off the roof (not onto the step I had just shoveled and was standing on, thank goodness) and tried to snap a photo in time. You can see chunks going by the chicken coop window if you look closely. Metal roofs are why we have  had those massive heaps of snow along the house-they really are 3 feet shorter now, since the snow used to cover that nearest window.

Since our neighbors are still snowcovered right along with us, I wouldn't really mind knowing we get spring a little later up north here if I could pretend everyone was in the same boat. But thanks to our family emails, I know Texas has been dry and in the 70s, as has Florida. My aunt has been weeding (!) and my brother has been figuring out how to calibrate his spreader for the proper chicken manure distribution. Colorado has had warm weather too, though Shoeshine has been too busy to appreciate it. A cousin in Montana went camping this past weekend, but at least had the grace to also have snow out there. Connecticut did get a little snow, and so did Rhode Island, but it was very little. My parents have been out cleaning up the lawn and installing a new pump in their little stream!  And my poor little 2 inch tall daffodil sprouts are back to hibernating. As am I.

      Can't forget this- Happy Birthday, Grampa Bob!