There is no doubt that the end of winter is near. The air has become increasingly unstable. Our temperatures are fluctuating between 3 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Our New England atmosphere is full of small snowstorms that finish as bothersome ice storms making the shoveling this time of year rather nasty.

We have had two days of shoveling this week and I am thinking that by tomorrow morning we will have another five to seven inches of snow to shovel from the drive.

This is the time of year when I am itching to get out into the garden and yet all I can manage is to stay somewhat even with the everyday chores: Walking the dogs, feeding the chickens, mucking the chicken runs and coops, feeding the wild birds and wild rabbits.

This is the time of year when winter stores are running out for the forest critters and so bird seed and scraps for the bunnies and squirrels become essential for life.

Even our Cooper’s hawk is seeming a bit more desperate these days.

Still we all know Spring is just around the corner and the outside jobs will soon want doing. I am looking forward to the earth thawing out and getting my hands into garden soil again.

WHAT ABOUT SPRING MAKES EXCITES YOU?