This week has been super weird weather wise. It started seasonably cool but by Wednesday was spring-like.  We were over 60 degrees on Thursday. 

I’ve been watching the pond slowly melt. Last weekend it was frozen solid; we guessed it had at least 7” of ice on top. I told Josh that it looked like it was melted again on Wednesday but he said it had to be surface water.  It would take more than a few warm days to melt that much ice. I walked down to the pond and he was right. There was a sheen of liquid on top but it was still solid enough to hold my weight Wednesday afternoon. 

I wasn’t the only one fooled by the surface water. There was a wild mallard out on the pond Thursday morning walking around tapping on the ice.

Thursday it was so warm and sunny I filled up a baby pool for the ducks to swim in. They’ve gotten pretty scuzzy without any water to submerge in. It took them a couple hours to find it up by the house, but once they did they were fighting over it until dark. It was fun to watch out the window. 

By Friday, though, that spring tease was done. It started off cool and rainy and as the temps dropped it turned to sleet by the afternoon then snow in the evening. Great  big fat wet flakes were coming down as I stocked up the coop with food, lots of water and fresh bedding.  All the birds were inside milling about. None of the animals  especially like snow around here. 

As it got dark last night it was snowing pretty hard. Some of the forecasters were predicting up to 7 inches but when I awoke this morning it was more like 2” at most. 

It is pretty though. It makes everything look pristine and fresh. 

And that sky!  

I enjoyed a few minutes outside checking on the birds this morning after I got my patient situated inside.  It’s brisk (about 24 degrees) but the wind died down and the sun is out so it felt rather pleasant. 

The fresh snow showed the life that often goes unseen out back. I followed some small 4-legged tracks – maybe a cat – up from the road, around the bird feeders, past the garden, around the chicken coop and back behind the pond.  

And so we are back to winter, for now. Those few days of spring tease made me start thinking about garden planning. Last night I got out my seed catalogs and started dreaming of putting my hands back in the soil again. I have to remind myself to enjoy this time of rest from the garden. It will be time to begin again soon enough. 

When do you start your garden plan?