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Health & Fitness

The Daily Complaint: Betrayal and Divorce

I love the soft sprouting of spring as much as the next sap…but not in January, and most definitely not throughout an entire Mid-Atlantic winter.

Sunny skies, green grass and fresh, crisp breezes tinged with the damp, clean smell of soil. I hate it. These are not the traits of the depths of winter; they are the garments of spring. Where’s the white stuff? The ground is spongy instead of hard. Where’s the ice? Squirrels shamelessly gallivant from one tree to the other. Shouldn’t they be sleeping?

Don’t get me wrong: I love the soft sprouting of spring as much as the next sap, but not in January and most definitely not throughout an entire Mid-Atlantic winter.  We had one hard snowfall way back in October and a little bitty flurry a couple of weeks ago. My vegetable bed should be dormant, but it’s lush with winter weeds like wild mustards, common chickweed, horseweed, henbit and purple deadnettle. Who wants to weed in February? Not me. I've been betrayed by winter.

Meanwhile, the forecast calls for a gorgeous week of temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. I only hope it’s bright and sunny on Thursday, which happens to be February 2.  That way, Punxsutawney Phil has a better chance of seeing his shadow and ushering in six more weeks of winter. It’s the only chance I have for a decent frost out of the remnants of Mother Nature’s balmy boondoggle.

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I was born and reared in this region of seasons. Four of them. Cold then fresh then hot then crisp. After a few years of that, one comes to expect the seasonal transitions.  I actually look forward to them.  A winter freeze resets the year and allows nature to withdraw, slumber, and renew. I’m not alone in this.  For thousands of years, tales have hailed the seasonal cycle. In Greek mythology, Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus, was kidnapped by a covetous Hades, who wrangled a deal with Momma Nature Demeter to keep her daughter below ground for half the year. During her daughter’s absence, Demeter is so depressed (the first case of Seasonal Affective Disorder perhaps) that she withdraws the life from the landscape: trees wither, flowers die, and animals hibernate.  When Persephone comes back for a visit, spring surges with joy.

That’s a nice story. Well, except for the deceit, kidnapping and incarceration. But it was certainly a memorable way to explain the shift of the seasons. I suppose the only explanation is that Persephone has finally divorced that rascal Hades. I only wish she had retained the right to winter in her custody agreement.

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And here’s another bit of winter sunshine: a killing frost is good for the garden. Snow drops, hyacinths, and marigolds may be the earliest blooming flowers in the garden, but that doesn’t mean they’re the brightest bulbs in the box. They’re easily confused. Some warm weather and they start shooting through the dirt.

This season, snow drops were sighted in Central Park as early as mid-December. To be fair, Mike McGrath, WHYY’s Organic Gardener says you don’t have to worry if your bulbs start to shine. Don’t try to slow them with mulch or coverings.  Leave them be. You’ll have an early bloom, but apparently it won’t harm them. However, what will harm our cholorphyll pals later in the season—according to the University of Missouri Extension—is the plethora of winged and crawling pests. Warmer winters encourage bugs. The lack of an extended frost means more larva hang on and hatch. Start scratching now.

The extended AccuWeather forecast for February calls for a warm-up. I choose to disregard that.  They’ve been wrong before. Specifically, back in October they said we were in for a doozy of a “brutally cold and snowy winter.” I bought new boots; had my shearling coat cleaned…warmest coat I ever owned. I expect those meteorologists are feeling pretty sheepish right around now. I know I’m not; I haven’t had a chance to wear that coat once.

I look to the Farmers’ Almanac for encouragement at this point. For the period of February 1st to the 29th, those mysterious New Englanders predict flurries, frost, and outright snow for most of the month. The next full moon occurs on February 7 and is known as the Snow Moon. I’ll be watching the skies. Hope springs eternal. I just hope that’s not spring springs eternal.

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