I returned from my trip to discover....

Spring Has Arrived!

In Minnesota, Spring is not a gradual process. First, there's the weeks of anticipation, with warming weather and slowly diminishing snow cover. It is still winter, but somewhere beneath the surface, changes are brewing. "Spring is coming," we say, though we don't know the exact date it will arrive.

Then, inevitably, we get the sudden warm front, followed by a day or two of soaking rain. When we emerge, we find that (miraculously!) the last of the snow has disappeared, green shoots are appearing in the ground, and the buds on the trees are pregnant with the expectation of summer. Spring has arrived.

It rained most of the weekend, so when I finally had the chance to go outside yesterday, I discovered tiny baby blades of grass pushing their way up through last year's thatch. I found crocuses ready to bloom with another day or two of warm sun. And I surveyed the damage the winter did to our yard and garden.

The verdict: Not bad. My bamboo came through the winter well, since the early snowfall protected it from the worst of the cold weather (yes, I am growing bamboo in Minnesota. Why? Why not. Does it do well? It depends on how you define "well"). The deer caused a lot of damage to the young white pines I planted a few years ago, but I think they'll survive. Many of the hedges desperately need to be trimmed, after several seasons of neglect. You can thank the twins for said neglect.

We're still at the squishy phase of spring, but in another week or two, the ground will have dried out, the trees will have leaves, and another winter will be just a memory.