Or is it just another tease? Snow is finally melting into mud. I have trenches diverting all the streams trying to flow through my barn. My horse's shed is flooded, which in all the 7 years it's been there, it never has this bad. Then again, this year if threw the manure out the front with the idea that I'd rake it back in the Spring. (Oops)

I should dig up the snow by my front door and see if any crocises are out.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2003

Answers

Spring peepers are hollering, Dee! At first it was only a few, but the chorus is growing stronger day by day. I'm so looking forward to being able to sleep with the windows open - soon, I hope!

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2003

I ate lunch outside at our employee park today. My friend Jeani says that her crocus plants are growing. Maybe spring finally is here. :)

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2003

The last couple days here have been from the mid 50's to 60 out. We've lost nearly all the snow except for in the shade and the larger snowbanks.

The horse barn flooded as well, but that is because they didn't build it up on an embankment to start with, so every spring they've got the plow out trying to grade the road more so that the water will drain down into the old outdoor arena, which always has turned into a lake whenver there are heavy rains or snow melt anyway.

My own little barn didn't flood this year, and I think that THAT is a first in the last 20+ years (we had so little snow).

Someone out in South Dakota was telling me that they are getting warned of a major snowfall/blizzard hitting them supposedly around thursday of this week. But our weather says that it will be warming up again and clear next weekend (and very soggy here on Thursday).

I'm a real pessimist and am always willing to believe the worst of the weather. I WANT to believe in spring, but the last few years around here, we've had 80 in April, and 30 in May.

All the crocus I've planted over the years have croaked (sorry! I couldn't resist), and the beds where I put in the daffodils and narcissus last fall are mostly still under snow banks. I did pile the snow onto them over the winter as I could to protect them from freeze/thaw cycle.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2003

Maybe a false alarm? It is suppose to be cold for the next few days again. I fell on the ice yesterday. I had an armful of hay and the ice with all the water running off, slipped unto my butt (Oooh, still hurts) The goats were trying to climb over me to get the hay...stupid animals. I was spitting out alfalfa and shaking it out of my hair all day. At least most of the water drained off.

Oh, and, I mean AANNND a skunk was in my barn calmly eating the cat's food the other night. Thing wasn't scared of us at all. Here I am, trying to figure out how to feed my other animals and keep the cat away (he figured it was okay to investigate since I wasn't worried) Hubby didn't listen to me about shooting it in the chest and shot it in the head. At least it didn't stink. The next day we couldn't find it so it must have not been injured too bad. Another day at the farm...

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2003

Raining here but warm. Daytime temps in the mid-50's. Nights about 10 degrees less. Daffodils, crocus, tulips, flowering cherry and plum trees, quince, forsythia, camellias, and lots of perennials are blooming around here. The grass is extremely green and growing fast. Muddy lanes flow out to the pastures.

There's a real Eastertime look around here, even though Easter is still weeks away. When I was a little kid, women would buy new hats (remember millinery departments at department stores?). Kids would get new Easter outfits. It was a pretty big deal around here. One year, my bro and I got rabbits. Sheesh. We lived in Seattle, and the bunnies had to live in a hutch and get let out for "walks" a couple of times a day. I had a big buck, named "Hoppy" (original, eh?), who used to chase our cats around the yard.

Anyway, it's also been windy (another spring sign). I have wind chimes all over the place, and they've been going like crazy. Oh yeah, another sign: Egg production! Duck eggs everywhere, a few goose eggs, and the chickens (as old as they are now...4 yrs) are giving us 4 eggs a day (vs. 2 lately).

I'm eating less and wanting to be outdoors more, so my personal spring perceptor mechanism must be kicking in!

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2003

I got cold again and raining but hopefully, it will wash away what is left of the snow. If I look out the window, it looks really messy. I don't know, nothing looks nicer then either the green of summer or the snow blanket of winter. Inbetween just doesn't cut it.

Wood stove is cooking tonight too.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2003

Definitely spring around here. My horse's stall is flooded!!! All that snow that was piled up against the NW corner has been melting really quickly and the ground underneath is still frozen. So the water has seeped in between the floor and the wall, saturated his stall then flowed across the barn towards the kid pen. Some of my stored bags of grain and shavings got wet, but I could salvage most of them. My does had to wade through 3" of water to get to their milk stand!! So I'm off the get my crowbar out and try to chop through the ice. I think my arms and shoulders will be useless tonight :-(!! It's been in the 50's most everyday now. My crocuses are up and the daffodils and day lilies are poking through the ground. My lilac and apple trees are budding up, also. Just patchy snow left around here. I agree, Dee! "In between" doesn't cut it! It's brown, muddy and generally YUCKY right now, but I know it wont last long!!!

Happy Spring, Everyone!!!!

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2003