Spring came......and went

I noticed this house far off the road one winter day. It made me smile because it reminded me of spring. The house is sky blue and the trim is the color of puffy white clouds. I could just imagine some woman living on the prairie who just couldn't face another dreary winter day, so she painted her house to look like spring. I was envious of her having color and beauty to drive home to every night during the long, cold months of winter.

Winter is hard on the prairie. This was our first winter this far north so we had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be the worst winter here in 30 years! The first snow fell on November 30th. It basically never left for many months. It almost melted a few days later, but it never completely vanished. Then the really nasty part of winter arrived. The temperatures fell and the snow storms began appearing every 2 to 3 days. Our driveway became impassable before Christmas. Going anywhere required me to dig our car out of a snowbank, then shovel a path to the cornfield. Next I had to shovel a path out of the cornfield back to the driveway to actually reach the road. Finally we had to just leave our cars at the end of the driveway and walk the quarter mile to the house through the drifted snow carrying our groceries and other purchases.

Eventually that didn't work because our cars wouldn't even start when the temperature fell to (-25) and the windchill was (-40)!

We were trapped in a cold, dreary world. For many months, the land was white with snow as far as the eye could see, and the sky was a gray expanse as far as the eye could see. Occasionally a clump of trees would tie the two together with their bare, black branches outlined against the barren landscape. Months passed before the snow stopped.

Then the rains began. This past March was the wettest one on record here. It was followed by an April where it rained 2 of every 3 days. It was during these long dreary months that I spotted the "spring house". It's bright color scheme seemed to shout to the world that someday spring would return. I have been patiently waiting.

On May 1st it seemed that spring might have come. I noticed that the grass was growing. The cherry tree was blooming. The air was warmer. The wind had quit blowing from the north. We actually saw the sun for 5 days in a row!

Yesterday morning when I opened the front door, I discovered the dream was over. The icy wind was blowing in from the north again and it was cloudy. I had to retrieve my heavy, fur-lined winter coat from the hall closet where it had been banished just so I could bear to go outside. If I wasn't moving, I swear I would get in the car and drive to Sherwin Williams and buy some sky blue and some white paint. I might even get some bright yellow and green paint too just for flowers. Spring is going to come, even if I have to bring it myself.

I hope the sun is shining at your place. Blessings to you!