All Nature seems at work.
Slugs leave their lair--
The bees are stirring--birds are on the wing--
And winter, slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of
Spring!

A cold front has moved in bringing cutting winds and lots of rain. I'm getting antsy to dig up my garden beds and start planting. But digging in cold, wet soil ruins it, so I must be patient and wait until the time is right. Patience is something that does not always come easily to me. It's good to be forced to wait for what you want. Delaying gratification brings a feeling of pride when at last you are able to achieve what you were wanting all along.

As for the garden, and growing things, I read that the cost of our fruits and vegetables will be higher this summer, since the farmers in California have been so hard-hit with rain. They have delayed planting most all of the things that we enjoy eating later in the season. Do we ever stop to think about what would happen if the foods that we take for granted suddenly became unavailable to us? Makes you want to go out and dig up the ground and plant a row or two of lettuce, pot up some tomatoes, and hope for the best!