Oh Spring...Where Art Thou?

It doesn't matter where I go when downtown these days, everyone asks the same question...where is spring? We are all tired of winter. The snow had melted to the point that I could start seeing the outline of my flowers beds and the not so nice damage the moles had done to our front lawn. I still couldn't see our vegetable garden though as the snow was still too deep. We've had a lot of rain so the snow was disappearing bit by bit..that is until Thursday night. Mother Nature decided to throw in an ice storm, then ice pellets for the rest of the day. Now my yard is all white again and it's most discouraging..

Thankfully we didn't get hit as hard as some areas a little south of here. Telephone poles were snapped in half, large trees lost limbs or were knocked over. Many thousands of people lost hydro but we were fortunate, our hydro stayed on except for a few minutes near morning. We are now dealing with thick, wet slush to walk or drive in. My husband keeps saying: spring has to come sometime, this can't last forever. What I want to have is a "definite date" when it might arrive..like maybe a week from today! Some winters just seem more discouraging than others and we long for the sight of a tulip or daffodil poking up..

We are starting seeds inside like we do most years but starting more than usual. As I write this big white snowflakes are falling outside. More than ever I need to get my hands in the starter soil and get dozens of little peat pots ready for seeds of all kinds. I think I'll start at least 6 containers of hollyhocks one of my favorite flowers and hope fervently our resident groundhog doesn't eat all the leaves off them like he usually does..I'll probably have to surround the new shoots once planted outside with some type of chicken wire..He moved in under my hubby's shed because so many trees were removed across the street to make a parking lot..but I wish he hadn't chosen MY yard..he has quite the appetite.

My step-daughter is excited about starting some seeds this year inside so Claire our dear two year old granddaughter can see how seeds grow. I have purchased some children's gardening gloves so she can help her Nanny plant vegetable seeds in the garden this year. They can't plant very much as their house as their dog will eat nearly anything. I plan on hauling out my big pots this year so they can plant them here as they visit quite often plus I can easily water them...we don't have a dog and so far the groundhog hasn't come up onto our deck.

I expect to have great fun this weekend as I babysit overnight for the very first time so my step-daughter and her husband can have a night away for their anniversary. I babysit Claire quite often but just for a few hours at a time. We have so much fun together, "play toys" are the first words out of her mouth on arrival. We  have tea parties or she also loves being read to, often the same book each visit. We have quiet times too, coloring or putting Winnie the Poo stickers in a little book. Her and I have Winnie in common, I've been collecting Winnie story books for the last few years and even have a Winnie Teddy Bear. Claire also loves Mickey Mouse and Minnie so we have a few story books of them around too..

My husband teases me that I can't go shopping even in a grocery store without buying something for our granddaughter. It's always been hard for me to pass up a sale..a real bargain. There seem to be so many bargains right now too..Our Zellars store closed the end of March so there were sales galore week after week. I like to keep pyjamas, extra socks and a couple of outfits for her to wear in case we are outside and she gets all wet or dirty..I like to put the clothes I purchased on her if we play outside, then her mother can take her home in the clean clothes she arrived in. Our wee Claire is a good helper. She loves to help Nanny load the clothes dryer and then turn it on.

She helps me wash potatoes now for the meal and throw all the peelings into the compost bucket. Well some miss the bucket on purpose because once a child becomes two, their little minds are thinking of a lot of ways to do the complete "opposite" of what you want them to do. My poor old brain doesn't work as fast as it once did when my own children were two, so she gets around me probably more than she should..I think it's almost impossible NOT to spoil a grandchild..

Last summer she picked a lot of my flower heads off in order to present her mummy with something pretty. This year I'll be able to show her how we cut flower stems to make an arrangement and put them in a vase in water. Unless she is running around the yard, with her big brown eyes sparkling with mischief, trying to outrun her Nanny. I can hardly wait for all the fun outside this summer but first today's snowfall must stop, all the snow must melt and Mother Nature present us with Spring, Glorious Spring!