WiNTER ,
UNTiL IT ISN ’ T
story by LAURA LINDBLOM
What do we call this time between true winter and true spring ?
It needs its own name , because applying either label cheats these months out of their own unique charm . But if we are to be confined to those two descriptors , I ’ ll say this : It is winter , until it is not .
We may be covered with a foot of snow . Our teeth may be chattering against a biting north wind and sub-zero temperatures . We may be chopping ice and stomping around in heavy winter boots , in thick coats and hats and coveralls and heavy gloves . We may be shoveling snow and digging critters out of snow drifts , but winter is on its way out ! The end is in sight . Cold days don ’ t last . Warmups are punctuated by frosts and snows , and cold snaps are punctuated with blue-sky balminess . The days deliciously lengthen . Everything – two-legged critter and four-legged critter alike - is simply bursting at the seams with pent-up energy , soaking in the sunlight , and new life springs up every time a person turns around . The barnyard , the garden , the hillsides , the sky , everything is stirring with an unmistakable effervescence , if you will , a scintillating energy . Spring is “ bustin ’ out all over ,” as the old Rodgers and Hammerstein classic goes .
There is almost too much to look at . The living room has been overtaken with the beginnings of the new garden – Seedlings stretch their little leaves towards the westerly sunlight streaming in the window , the optimistic beginnings of what will hopefully be a fruitful summer . Cheeping and twittering come from the spare bedroom - Tiny fuzzballs of chicks bask in their brooder box , where they are gazed upon by multiple pairs of eager eyes ( one pair of human eyes , and three pairs of canine eyes ), before they are moved down to the nursery box in the barn .
The dogs , somewhat content in the wintertime to hunker down inside , throw aside their hibernation for rambunctious play at all hours of the day and night , stir-crazy and insistent .
18 Down Country Roads March / April 2025