Winter Clearance and “Tulips in the Snow”

It’s hard to believe the difference less than a month makes in the landscape. I’m going to share some pictures I took less than a month ago …

Today is May 4th, the birds are all singing, the grass is visible, the temperature is in the low 80’s, and I just felt a warm breeze … a warm breeze …

It’s hard not to get “giddy” this time of year. After a long, hard Winter, which fell on much of the country, we can finally, finally say that Spring has arrived. The groundhog was, of course, right again: He came out of his den on February 2nd … did not see his shadow (it was cloudy that day-not unusual for early February) … and, there would be 6 weeks elapse before Spring … a quick check of the calendar proves that Spring does come 6 weeks later …

Which begs the question, “How many of us would be so glad to have only 6 more weeks of Winter after the first week of February?” This year seemed to be especially brutal for so much of the United States. But, Spring has arrived.

I wanted to write something about Winter finally being gone, but needed to wait until all of the snow was gone from the yard. We had our last snow about 2 weeks ago, and the temperatures have slowly, slowly been going up-at night! As I look at the 10-day forecast, only tomorrow night is predicted to be in the 30’s. You have to understand how big that is. Today is Monday, and we finally shut the pellet stove down this past Saturday. When that happens, Winter is officially over. I wait to shut the heat down until we don’t have any night coming up in the 30’s. Tomorrow night is a surprise, but on Saturday, for the first time in several months, there wasn’t an overnight low in the 30’s predicted, and we would see 70’s on some days in the near future. That’s the signal we wait for … and, so, after about 8 tons of pellets (that’s 16,000 pounds of pellets), we “shut ‘er down.” Spring has officially arrived.

It is still hard to not stop on the way upstairs from the garage, upon arriving home, to not reach for a bag of pellets. After all, since November, every time I’ve climbed those stairs, I’ve grabbed a bag of pellets to carry with me. It seems odd to not have to stop, drop everything, and tend to the stove before I do anything else in the house … Which brings to mind this:

“Even good takes time to get used to.”
Richard. Vincent. Rose.

I have, for some time now, wanted to have a “final Winter post,’ and put my “left-over” Snow poems in to share. Looks like that will wait until next year. No pellet stove … no heat at all going … that takes some getting used to.

Today is May 4th, and the last of the snow has now melted. I mean, literally, today, as we still had a small amount of snow/ice in the yard yesterday. I worked out in the yard on Friday night, the first time in months, and, as I walked around the yard, I felt like a prisoner which had just been released. I’m serious. That’s how I felt. In a way, we are “kept prisoner” by the snow and cold and snow and cold of our Winters, just like many of you. Being able to walk around, outside, without tall boots and layers and layers and layers of clothing … it was, like, being released out into the world … a world you haven’t been able to “walk around in” for several months … At least I don’t make it dramatic …

We are able to park the vehicles outside. This makes it official. No more nights with frost.
Today … we used our clothesline … we actually have clothes outside … and, they will dry. Not just that … but, we dried towels on the line!!! You just have “to be here” to understand how big that is.

I am wearing shorts (this may be TMI, but, remember, this is an “event” up here). For the last 3 days, I’ve been able to wear a t-shirt outside-without layers and layers and layers … Today, for the first time in so many months … I am barefoot, and walking outside … Again, you just have to “be here” to understand how big that is …

It was one month ago, yes, it was Easter weekend, and we traveled through the snow … to visit the Tropics … I mean, leave “the ‘notches” and travel South … to Connecticut … As predicted, it was a snowstorm here (remember, it was only early, early April), and, as we drove out of Franconia Notch … the sky opened up … the sun was out … and, each mile we traveled diminished the amount of snow on the roadsides … We still had between 1-2 feet of snow in the yard at this time, and the snow was piled up, still, close to the roof of the garage … but, as we traveled south, visions of sunshine danced in our heads, and, with each stop along the way, more and more layers came off …

Connecticut, as a whole, got more snow than we did this Winter. This doesn’t mean we didn’t get any, just that they got a lot, lot of snow. It was one of the coldest, most severe Winters on record there, and in a lot of other places. The whole Spring growing season was thrown off, even in Connecticut. At Easter, we usually see flowers up, many blooming, etc. But, this year, this was not the case. While the snow was gone, the effects of the long, long Winter were evident in the lack of new growth.

We were given, as a gift (and an encouragement), a pot of tulips … in bloom … Good ‘ol grocery store! We returned home from the Tropics of Connecticut with a tank full of anti-freeze, and a flower pot full of tulips! So, in early April, as we arrived home to even more snow, and more snow and cold to come … at least we had flowers in bloom …Granted, this is the only way you get flowers in bloom up here in early April … but, we’ll take them! I could not resist the temptation to take pictures, and they turned out pretty good … almost have a surreal look to them.

I placed the flower pot out on the railing of our front deck, and snapped a couple of pictures. This was less than a month ago, and you can see the snow-covered spruce trees behind, and the road covered with snow. And, it was cold! But, up here, in early April, we’ll take flowers any way we can get them … even imported from the Tropics!!!

I am reminded of the verse in Genesis (one of my Mom’s favorite verses) where God promises that as long as the earth remains, there will be seasons …

I am reminded how symbolic this “Winter into Spring” transformation is … how, because of the “new birth,” old things “are passed away, and all things become new.”

I also think of this: How just a couple of days, even a few precious moments, wipes away several months, even years, of frustration.

So, maybe our Spring arrives late … but, boy! Do we appreciate its arrival!
I’m thinking … Which do we anticipate more … appreciate more?
The end of Winter? Or, the arrival of Spring?
I’d say both.
Thank God for the promise of Springtime.
It’s here!
So are His promises.

Here’s the photos: