Spring has sprung …. boing! Winter’s brief return.

March 22, 2010 by Debbie.

First day of spring and a cold front came in. We had temps in the lower 30’s and snow by 4:00 pm, with a tad of sleet mixed in for good measure.  We had batten down all the cold frames the night before and had all the goats in dry, warm shelters so it was just a matter of  waiting it out.

Sunday, when I looked out the back windows (facing North) it looked like an Ohio blizzard with the wind blowing the snow off the roof into a whirl to join the 2 inch coating on the ground. It was beautiful, just not what I wanted on a Sunday morning at the end of March.  I’d much rather have been worshiping at church but since we’ were definitely here there was no use in moping around. I’d already fixed the dough for cream cheese Kringles - raspberry and apricot, John’s two favorite jams. It didn’t take long to fill the rolled out dough and stick them in the oven.

Pepper, John’s cat, came rushing to see if he could have some warm goats milk. He was not amused I delayed milking to fix the Kringles but he did eat the left over ricotta, accepting my apology grudgingly as only a cat can do. Despite the cold, wet snow he was ready to head out as soon as his meal was over. He’s a great barn cat, liking only to rarely visit ‘the big house.’

Snow and freezing temps yesterday and then today broke clear and beautiful, temps in the higher 60’s. It was an almost perfect day. No day is perfect if John’s not here with me but that was about the only thing wrong today. I even cleaned the guest bath and ran the vacuum.  Of course, I had motivation - two friends are coming over to make cheese tomorrow.

After housecleaning and laundry I actually had time to quilt today. I worked on two scrappy quilts - one that’s almost finished and one I’m just starting. I get antsy when I come close to finishing a quilt. Doing the same pattern over and over can breed boredom so I usually start the next quilt before the last one is completely done - new inspiration.

Everything survived the snow and cold, again. The broccoli is heading up and will be ready to selectively pick this weekend. We already picked our first kohlrabi and lettuces/greens for salad. The scallions and green garlic  that basically grow on their own (with my weeding help) are adding great flavor to the salads as well. I planted some radish before the snow fell so that should be fine to pop up any day now. I’m sure the kale loved the cold and will be even better tasting after wards - frost always improves kale’s flavor.  The English peas sprouted and did fine with the snow covering.

Bud and I spent some time on the porch swing. It was so wonderful out I even snoozed for a few minutes.  Yep, today was a really good day! I could almost hear Olivia Walton saying, “I can’t wait for spring of the year …. forsythia blooooooooooooming by the fence…”

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