TIME TO SPRING FORWARD

Last week I awoke to the lovely sound of a bird singing outside my bedroom window. It was so lovely to lie there contemplating the arrival of spring, and the end of winter here in New England. However, after a while it dawned on me that the bird song was uncharacteristically regular and sort of irritating. It just went on and on and on.  Well, as it turns out it was not a bird singing, but my nose whistling Dixie in syncopation with a stuffy nasal passage.  Bummer!

So sadly, spring had not arrived. And while winter took a break for a few days, it really never left. We did warm up for several days … just long enough to melt the ground and allow the squirrels to dig up my peonies and destroy the slumbering annuals that needed a bit more nap time. But we all knew it was a trap.

Indeed, Old Man Winter is back again with a vengeance. He brought a classic Nor’easter that came and went over the last two days. So, now I sit and look out at the foot of snow that has covered my poor beleaguered garden. I admit it is beautiful and visually a great improvement on the mud and squirrel diggings that were there on Tuesday, but still … I am really sick of the boots and the scarves and the gloves and the Kleenex dribbling from my pockets. How about a nice blast of fresh air and sunshine?

But hey, I just remembered! This is the time of year that we all spring forward and adjust once again to the stupidity of daylight savings time. So, next Monday we will all, with the exception of Arizona, stagger around because we will be going to bed an hour in advance of our normal time, and getting up and hour early. And again I ask … to what end?

I guess the whole process of springing forward does give one hope that spring will be here soon.  I admit the longer daylight hours make it feel as if the cold is only temporary rather than permanently imbedded in the fabric of our lives. And there is evidence that March is only a temporary misery. But enough with the cloudy skies and brown grass, already! Give me some color!

In fact, one of the most glorious signs of spring and it promise, is the opening of Elizabeth Garden’s Spring Greenhouse Show. It is opening early this year. It appears the warmer weather has caused the bulbs to come up in advance of their normal time. They too are in a hurry for spring to come, and have speeded up the schedule for the exhibition. As a result, the show is only open from March 9^th through the 16^th.  It is a real tonic, and a nice antidote for the winter doldrums to visit the fabulous show. I urge you to take the time and make the journey if you are anywhere in the Hartford region. As a teaser, I have given you a few photos of the show from last year. What an outstanding display of color! At last!