Spring in January

January. A time of snow, sledding, snowball fights, fort building, snowman making. And yes, shovelling. Not this year. Not yet anyway. It is green outside; cold, but green. Usually the highways have been shut down once or twice, schools closed and the woodstove going full strength all the time. Not this year. There's been a couple of days where I felt like I should be spring cleaning. I changed the bedsheets a few days ago, and opened the bedroom and bathroom windows. The sun was shining, the air smelled like spring, and even the birds sung their spring tune. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was the end of March or beginning of April. If it keeps up, the crocuses will be poking their heads out of the dirt in the gardens soon.
The thought crossed my mind this afternoon to sit down and plan my gardens for the summer. What shall I plant? Ah, but I controlled myself. That time will come, and in the meantime I'll keep looking into the sky, wondering when we'll see a few flakes float down to the ground below.