The Depths of Winter.

Here in Wisconsin we’ve entered what is truly the depths of winter. By mid February, everyone I know is crawling up the walls with cabin fever. Mother Nature becomes increasingly spiteful this time of year- the sun begins to shine brightly (sunglasses are as necessary now as they are in July), but the lack of clouds means the temperatures plummet to bone-chilling lows (it was -16F here this morning, our high is 4F).

The urge to go outside to replenish the rapidly depleting Vitamin D stores in one’s body becomes a game of chicken before windburn or, worse, frostbite sinks in. This is also the kind of weather that superheats the inside of your car, making it utterly intolerable with one’s winter jacket on. But you don’t dare take it off, instead you consider putting the AC on. This is when Rich will ask me why we live here.

You also get the sense, on these bright, sun-filled days, that all that sunshine is doing the hard work of starting to melting the ice and snow. Of course, you’d be wrong. That snow and ice will be here for at least another month.

The only thing that is satiating my Cabin Fever is the seedlings growing away upstairs. I’ve already pricked out and potted on a number of Veronica seedlings (Alba, Blue Shades, and Pink Shades) and the Agretti is growing slowly but steadily. I check on them daily, impatiently waiting for Cobea scandens to pop its head out of the dirt and for the New England Aster and Echinacea seeds I collected from my own garden to do their thing.

I’m very thankful for those tiny green leaves this time of year. Thankful for something to do that resembles gardening and the promise of a new growing season.

We’re almost there!