Looking forward...

At the risk of sounding like a total lunatic, I'm not quite ready for Winter to be over. I adore Spring, and I need Spring, but there's so much to be done before it actually gets here. I know the thaw this week is just a wee teaser, and it will most certainly get cold and snowy again, but hoooooooo boy the balmy temps of the past few days have lit a fire under me arse, oh yes.

To do:

-Order SEEDS! We're starting early this year. No sadly immature melon plants at the end of this summer, no, no and no. We have a few really good places to get some plant starts going over the next several weeks and there are zero excuses not to make it happen. Blue jade corn! Himalayan blue poppies! Amish paste tomatoes! Lemon cucumbers!
-Bring over the hoop house C built at the end of last summer. It will be great for the outdoor plant starts when the snow melts.
-Evaluate the cabin for our first construction project...there is still no kitchen, no bathhouse, and no well for either of those things. Holy crap, we have a lot to do there!
-Find some way to agree on how we want those things to work out...C and I seem to have some very different ideas about all of it.
-Harvest our wood pile from under the snow at the old house and bring it over here.
-The chickens! Finish building the new coop and get them over here, too!

But I'm totally preoccupied with so many
Things to look forward to:

-Putting away the woolen underwear for a long time.
-Fresh local veggies!
-Spring and summer craft shows.
-Open windows, open studio.
-Wheelbarrowing the little guy to the pond.
-Picnics at the pond!
-Picnic weather in general.
-Strawberry-picking.
-Sun-kissed skin.
-Rain.
-Watching our goats eat up the blackberry brambles.
-Watching the sheep eat sweet green grass again.
-Watching the chickens eat bugs.
-Baby ducks!
-Baby goat!
-Building at the cabin.
-Scavenging for things to build with at the cabin.
-Stacking wood in the sunshine.
-Rich soil.
-Pulling weeds.
-Walking, running, bicycling!
-Bonfires.
-Roasting marshmallows
-Reading under the shade of a tree.
-Little guy running around naked, slathered in sunblock.

I could go on forever.

This was just the cheering exercise I needed...such a long, tough week emotionally...it is so good to be reminded of the amazing things the coming days will bring. This Winter I've been really susceptible to the malaise and melancholy that dark, cold days can encourage. Lists are my new best friend.

So, even though this was meant to look like a Scrub Jay:

I think I need to get a bit more Spring and Summer into the dyepots...let myself create the colors my eyes are craving. Blossoms, dewy grass, mud and popsicles, lemonade and linen. Bring it on.