It's starting! Despite the four inches of snow we received over the weekend, spring is coming and will not be stopped. In the Mid-Ohio Valley, now is the time to take a walk and look for signs of spring.
If you have small children, take them for walks to search for new green growth and fuzzy, swelling buds. I have many memories of the smell of spring and poking under leaves to discover chartreuse shoots, startling and delightfully creepy. It's sad and little scary that many children these days aren't experiencing this because they're inside most of the time.
It's not only time to look for seasonal signs, but to listen too. Spring peepers and wood frogs start calling in March here. Both species are shy. We can sneak up on the wood frogs in the pond, but I have never seen a spring peeper.
In the garden the growth of garlic, clary sage, and overwintered kale is well underway. And the $1-a-pot bloomed out tulips that I planted last spring survived the winter. Perhaps this is the year I will break the tulip barrier and be rewarded with blooms.
As the weather warms, the magical inhabitants will repopulate the garden . So far only Buddha's kitty has emerged, but the rest are sure to follow soon. Expect lots of photos of the whole family in the coming months.