Many recent gray days have left me longing for spring. We are officially halfway through the winter season but there are days when I just want it to be over and for spring to come. We have three bird feeders so we have a host of visitors to our backyard daily. We have birdbaths also and keep water in them so that the birds will be able to stay around for a while with their needs met. We have two bird houses, specifically bluebird houses and we have bluebirds nesting there. That is a gift because bluebirds must be among the fussiest birds there are. One has to have their houses set just right for them to inhabit them. So, hopefully we have done everything according to their preferences in order for them to raise a new family.
Our house has been in remodel stage since October and it seems to be in the final stretch of the project. That also has me longing for spring because once they are through with their work and we have our new sunroom to begin to decorate and fill with the furniture and belongings we wish to be there, we can also begin to fix the outside area around the new room. Construction crews come and go and with each new visit something is changed or broken that was part of the backyard before it began. So far, two flower pots have suffered because of accidents and the ground around the area was dug up and must be reordered once again. We have plans that will require physical labor on our parts but we think we can do it in order for the yard to look as beautiful as the new room will look.
I guess I am longing for spring also because winter brings with it a feeling of cabin fever. With travel restrictions in place because of the virus, it is difficult to go anywhere that is of interest and I see videos or read articles about places where the sun is shining and people are enjoying the weather and the beauty of the place and I long to be there. The world is under some stage of lockdown and until enough people have been vaccinated travel to other countries is out of the question. Travel to other US states is out also because of quarantine rules there. So, this is the first time in my life that I have not been able to do some travel planning to be able to schedule an adventure for us to have soon.
I feel stuck in so many ways because of all these complications. Even the escape that comes with going to the movie theater has been taken away from us because the theaters are not operating. Restaurants here are as normal as they can be and shopping is an option if one wears a mask and does not interact with others. Taking a drive in the country and having a picnic is a good idea too if the weather cooperates, and that brings us back to the topic of weather which is also the topic of winter.
We had a snow event the first full weekend in January and another is being forecast for a week from today, maybe not as much snow as the first one but an inch or so is being forecast for now. That will be a record of some sort for this part of the nation. We hardly ever get snow and two snows in one winter would be something I have never experienced here. We are so wimpy here in comparison to those in northern and western states. We basically shut down most services, schools, and businesses when even an inch of snow happens. We know little about driving in snow conditions so it is probably for the best.
Winter helps us appreciate the spring when it comes. Without the gloomy days of winter we would not even notice spring when it finally arrives, but when the flowers begin to bloom in the fields and the birds sing joyfully in the sunshine, then we will rejoice in heart because we survived and a new season of hope has arrived. Isn’t that just what life is about when you think of it?
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