Thinking Spring

It has been a long time since I have even visited this blog or thought of writing anything here.  We moved into this house in July, and somehow it is already May.  I'm here again because of the encouragement of my friend, Eliza.  Sometimes the enormity of the projects we have taken on overwhelms me, but she was kind enough to remind me of all we have accomplished rather than just all that we have left to do.  And there is a lot left to do:  plastering, siding, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, trim, painting, landscaping and the list goes on and on, but for now, I'm going to forget about all of that....

This was a long, cold, hard winter.  By many accounts, it was the coldest and longest winter in decades in these parts.  Weeks went by when we didn't hit the freezing mark, and many days we were lucky to hit 10 above zero!  So, did our straw-clay infill house keep us warm?  I'm happy to say that this house has surpassed even our highest hopes in that department.  We heated only with our wood stove, and burned primarily soft wood, which we have in abundance around here, and we were toasty.  During the coldest days we kept the stove going pretty consistently, but now that it is in the 30s and higher again, we only burn two fires a day and the house is warm enough to walk around with bare feet and short sleeves.  Some days we only burn one fire, but then it gets down into the lower 60s by the end of the afternoon and early evening, and I get chilly.  I've become spoiled when it comes to a warm house!  Give me 72 degrees, please!  These walls seem to absorb the heat and radiate with warmth all day long.  It is truly a pleasure to live within these earthen walls.

Now, in the middle of April, spring is finally showing herself.  Crocuses are popping up here and there along the roadside in people's garden beds, song bird are taking happy baths in puddles, and the ground is thawed and ready to dig, which is, of course, exactly what I have been doing when the baby is sleeping.  I'm returning to gardening after a long hiatus due to the last phases of building this house, a pregnancy, welcoming our daughter, adjusting to being a mother, finishing my master's degree, moving into this house and starting a new job--all in one year!   It has been an absolutely crazy time in my life, and I'm so relieved to be returning to the soil and the garden beds I dug and fed so carefully years ago.  Those original garden beds are now in my front yard!  This week, in addition to turning over soil, I planted three high bush blueberry bushes, an elderberry bush and an apple tree in our front yard.  So satisfying!   I'm also happy to report that the cold frames my father built for me last fall are working away.  Onions, beets, kale, mustard greens, lettuces, cilantro, parsley, dill, arugula and various flowers are all popping their heads out of the soil.  Thank goodness for new life after the winter we had!

I find that it is with a new pleasure that I'm digging in the soil again--it is beginning to feel more and more like spring and home around here!