Now for the Hard Part

The last couple days have been wonderful -with temperatures well above normal for early February. There is a LOT less snow at the farm than there was just a little while ago. It's a good indicator of how long we've had snow cover when your brain keeps sending little alarm bells that things look very different when you walk outside.

Perhaps the nicest thing was all of the natural light we had yesterday (Tuesday). Even when I was working in the office, I felt everything was bright and cheerful. Not bad for someone who is as even tempered as I am (always mad).

Average high temps at this time are around 30 degrees Fahrenheit and lows are around 12. I suspect we're all going to have a difficult time accepting that after a few days of relative warmth. There's nothing quite like a couple of warm days, lots of snow melt and a good bit of sunshine to start making all of us expect (unreasonably) that we'll be running around in short sleeves and putting on sunblock in a matter of a few days.

Sorry everyone, I think we have a bit more winter to get through yet. In fact, it is not at all unreasonable to expect another two or three day long cold snap that puts us down below zero again. As a veg farmer, I might like to see another snow fall or two. Nothing horrible, just a little cover for the ground.

Regardless, it's time to start keeping your eyes out for your first robin. Many of them do not go as far south as you think and will show up on a sunny day as early as January if there's a nice microclimate by a building or some such thing.