spring is in the air, part 1

When do you change your way of thinking -- from "well, winter is finally upon us," to  "hey, it's not that long until spring?" For me, it happened today. True, some would regard it as a tad early and possibly too optimistic given that I live in Wisconsin -- a place notoriously stingy with warm early spring days, but still, I felt that we are on our way!

The cheepers would agree. It's just a degree or two above freezing, but they are, at least for a short while, out and about!





Of course, it's the weather that has me spinning into the next season. Looking ahead for the remainder of January -- well, it's just not going to be that cold. And yes, February can really dump on us severe winter weather, but February is so short! And the days are getting longer and plant catalogues are starting to make their annual appearance in our mailbox. I tell you -- spring is in the air!

On the return from Europe, jet lag is rarely much of a problem, though I do usually wake up a tad earlier. All the more time to catch up on home stuff!

It's great to be eating breakfast with Ed again...





... after which I scoot off to pick up food. Ed nicely finished up every last bit of everything while I was away. I rely on my absence for us to clear out our refrigerator.

And of course, by noon, I'm off to pick up Snowdrop.

Spring is in the air and the girl knows it! She runs to gaga's car...






And runs to her toys...






(So many things to play with, what's a girl to do??)






I have a slice of fresh baguette for her and she is thrilled of course, but she also wants to continue playing, moving from one thing to the next, even as it really is hard to imagine how one can chomp on bread and play baseball at the same time.







(She still insists on holding the bat with one hand. Ed, of course, is all about letting her do it her way.)






She cooks...






She dances...






Spinning in circles...






Until I ask her -- are you dizzy? And she responds laughing -- yes, I'm dizzy!






And here's something new: she tells me -- I'm snapping fingers! And she does that cutest of kid things -- clenching her fists back and forth, back and forth, hoping to reproduce a snap that clearly someone has been demonstrating for her.






All this within the first hour.


And then she remembers the thrill of visiting Ed's sheep shed. Like a bullet, she is at the door wanting to go there. I ask -- shouldn't we feed the chickens in the barn?
She hesitates, then accepts that responsibility, breaking off a piece of stale brioche for herself.






But she really wants the sheep shed. There is a huge puddle in front of it (there are puddles everywhere, as the ground is quite frozen and so the melting ice just stands still, waiting for a miracle) and Ed tries to shovel it away. Snowdrop watches, fascinated.






I know what she is thinking: let me in that pond of water! She loves puddles but no good would come of it: despite my spring thoughts, it's too cold to play in melting water, especially when she is scantily clothed. I whisk her into the shed.

For me, Ed's shed is filled with things that are part of his world mechanical and not anything I want to really delve into. Too, when I used to visit him (before moving here) and we hung out in the shed, he'd keep it approximately ordered. Those were days when he'd send a robotic floor washer on an orbit to buff up the place for me. Those days have long passed. I see that Snowdrop recognizes the need for some tidying!






(Where do you even begin??)






But the real attraction is in the tools.






Picking them up, examining them, placing them back and yes, wondering about their usefulness.






Ed is happy to show her what's what.






As we walk back to the farmhouse, I point to the robins in the tree. There are so many!






Yep, spring is in the air!






Meanwhile, after her nap, Snowdrop settles her penguins and her cow in for a reading session. Not so much about the coming of spring, but about the love of cookies. Clearly she doesn't yet appreciate that the budding of crocuses is nearly upon us. Maybe.