It hasn't been above freezing at my place since November 25th. I flirted with something above 32* around Christmas one day and also one day back in January, but the thermometer at my house never made it all the way there--and right after those tantalizingly warm days which felt so foreign it plunged way back down. It's been a very cold winter with hardly even days in the 10* to 20* range up here in the woods. But today it got up to 45*. Let me say that again--it was 45* up here! I could hardly believe it and kept finding every excuse I could to be outside, from fixing a bird feeder the squirrels had gotten a hold of to shoveling off the slush from the deck, or just to watch the animals enjoy it all too, anything so that I could just marvel at the fact that it could get that warm again and breathe it all in deeply. So much snow was melting that from inside, where I had every single window in the place open, it sounded like rain.
It was also a day to start cleaning the barn. My little barn--yeah it started its life labeled utility shed but it says it's a barn because it houses animals not lawn mowers, has been in a frozen state pretty much since December. That means there's a lot to be cleaned. But by tomorrow evening it will be on its way to being ship shape. I'm looking forward to the day that the chickens can go on out to there outside run, which is about 4 feet deep in snow, until perhaps next December...maybe by the end of the month? It did feel good to be out there, outside, working in the freshness of it all.
Everybody and everything seemed to revel in the change today brought. It's something how weather--something totally out of our control--influences moods, hopes, energy. I know that this burst in temperatures has certainly boosted my spirits, and I didn't even realize they needed boosting.
It has me missing my horse, whose been such a trooper this winter after 4 years in the desert, and I found myself getting the saddle that has been collecting dust all winter ready to go instead of vacuuming. It has me ready to sit out on the deck while I drink my morning coffee again.
The to do list was long today. Cleaning inside and out, rabbits to get in the freezer, and pedigrees to finalize for rabbits to get ready for new homes. My parents will be visiting in the next few days and the room they will be sleeping in is a compilation of sewing supplies and unpacked debris from moving...but at the end of today it was nice to stop it all and go out and watch the sunset in only a sweatshirt knowing more days of the same are ahead according to the forecast. I can almost hear the forest thawing and breathing a sigh of relief too.
I'm not naive enough to believe there won't be another stint of cold or snow, but today sure felt good!
