Spring News

A Patch of Old Snow There's a patch of old snow in a corner,      That I should have guessed Was a blown-away paper the rain      Had brought to rest. It is speckled with grime as if      Small print overspread it, The news of a day I've forgotten --      If I ever read it.      -- Robert Frost, Mountain Interval, 1916 I look around the farmhouse today, as the sun slowly rises, and I see a lot less snow than was here last week. Frost's A Patch of Old Snow would still be bundle-sized instead of a few sheets, piled here and there around the house and barns, but there's more than enough bare ground to say spring is here. Robins are dancing over the lawn this morning, interested in what the moles have tossed up overnight. Small limbs fallen over the winter lay scattered across the yard, discarded by the old maple tree when the ice came on thick, followed by a heavy wind. I'll be gathering them up and adding them to the pile already started. They'll dry over the summer and work well for kindling. The male ring-necked pheasant staying under the barn all winter has moved on. He survived the bitter cold and deep snow living off the scattered seeds dropped by other birds from the feeder. Warmer days and spring urges has sent him deeper into the woods in search of female companionship. May he stay healthy and safe and another generation come to winter under the barn. The garden has shaken off the remnants of snow that covered it deep for months. Sleeping well through the worst of the bitter cold under the snowy blankets, strawberry plants are already looking green and ready for warmer weather. For the rest, soon there'll be tilling and digging and rows to be planted -- but that will have to wait awhile