It was so cold and dark yesterday morning it seemed like the year was going back in time to winter. In the afternoon I called my sister, who lives north of here. When her answering machine picked up my call, I figured she and her husband had gone out to lunch to a nice warm location. Imagine my surprise when she got back to me. They'd been working out in their garden planting a new vine maple and several grasses - in the pouring rain. "No need to water," she told me. Well, that's for sure!
I felt like a wimp for not walking in the rain. Maybe today I will venture out in my white plastic coat I got on Amazon. Not a fashion statement but functional and it shows up in the dark.
It's pouring again today. Why not just use my treadmill in the basement? Because I'm searching for fresh air and signs of spring! Listening for birds and hoping for a sweet whiff of a winter blooming flowers the hummingbirds love. Hunting for new camelia and rhododendron buds, and the hint of chartreuse leaves unfurling.
Sitting here on our living room couch, I hear an enthusiastic robin chirping up and down the scale. The rain beats snow flurries, I tell myself. We had a trace of snow a few days ago and I don't miss it. February is a flip-floppy month as it is in many parts of the country.
I so enjoy the Valentine's Day decorations in people's yards and at the grocery store! Pink and red are my favorite colors this month, although I'd be thrilled with a blue sky!
Please enter my giveaway to help me celebrate the impending arrival of spring! My prizes are a charming floral Kate Spade 14" by 13.5" book tote with interior pocket, a box of traditional Valentine's Day chocolates, plus one of my signed books: either
An Amish Christmas Kitchen
,
Starting from Scratch
,
A Letter from Lancaster County
; or one of 3 books from
The Legacy of Lancaster County Trilogy
-
Leaving Lancaster
, its sequel,
Pennsylvania Patchwork
, or
Forever Amish
; or
A Portrait of Marguerite
.
US and Canada only, winner has three days to respond.
