Waiting on Spring – Early March

It’s that in-between season – the snow may be gone, but it’s definitely not Spring yet! Our yard is still frozen, and most days, the sun tricks you into thinking it’s much warmer than it actually is. So this is the time of year when I take out all my gardening journals, re-read articles and soak up all the green on the pages! And it’s always fun for me to re-read my favorite all-time gardening author, Cassandra Danz, in her “Mrs. Greenthumbs” books. Although she’s gone, her humor, practical ideas and gardening tips are timeless.

But the signs of Spring are all around us! Behind our house is a wildlife refuge with a creek that stays open all year round. The past few weeks have been noticeably more noisy – especially about dusk each day as the flocks of Trumpeter Swans and Canadian Geese come in for the night. And a pair of Bald eagles are feeding their young in a nest at the top of a huge White Pine near the mouth of the creek.  We feel tremendously blessed to have all this activity so near our house!

It’s also Maple Syrup time! Due to unseasonably warm weather, syrup buckets are already hung on maple trees around our neighborhood. In larger tracts of land, long lines of plastic tubing run from tree to tree throughout the woods collecting the sap in huge vats to be processed into the yummy Maple Syrup.

And the longer days and increasing light help me feel more energy! “Poppies in the Field” – 11”x14” Watercolor is one of the latest pieces off my easel.