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Winter Winter Winter Winter …..

March 5, 2008 - By 

We’re having a real winter this year — four inches of new snow yesterday, 25 degrees and grey skies today (but at least the wind isn’t blowing). This is the first winter since I’ve lived in Montana that I’ve really wanted to jet off someplace warm for a shot of sunshine (or is it the first winter since I’ve been here that I haven’t gone to California for work?).

My bulbs are just barely starting to peek up out of the ground — the last couple of winters have been so warm that they all bloomed early. The silver lining might be, as Janet points out over at Ethicurean, that cold winters are better for fruit set in the spring.  Now that I  know I have those greengage plums in my backyard I’m getting a little greedy — they were so yummy. (Of course, considering the serious pruning job I did on that plum tree, I probably won’t get much fruit this year).

At any rate, there isn’t much news on the local food or garden front here in still-frozen Montana. The snow is good. We need the water. And at least we’re past the real dark of the winter. But I’m ready for the sun to come back. Ready for a little warmth again. Ready for winter to recede.

I'm a writer and editor based in Livingston, Montana. I moved to Livingston from the San Francisco Bay area in 2002 in search of affordable housing and a small community with a vibrant arts community. I found both. LivingSmall details my experience buying and renovating a house, building a garden, becoming a part of this community. It also chronicles my efforts to rebuild my life after the sudden death of my younger brother, and closest companion, Patrick in a car wreck.

4 Comments on “Winter Winter Winter Winter …..”

  1. Here in Minneapolis, winter is killing us – most days in the single digits, fierce winds, and solid snow cover (a foot or more) since about December 1, with another 2 inches today. Even people who are from here are exhausted by it. (As a transplant, I am simply not leaving the house…)

  2. I went to college in Wisconsin and this feels like one of *those* winters — the shank end is always the hardest — a couple of days in the 40s, the light glimmering at the end of the tunnel, and then slam! Snow and grey skies again …

  3. I keep hoping for a cold snap out here to prune back some of the allergens and bugs! But no. My poor kids still haven’t seen snow. 😉

  4. Everything’s a muddy mess in Helena. I love winter and really wish it would stay below freezing for a while longer! More snow! More plugging in the truck! More big comfy sweaters! I guess it’s easy to love Helena winters, though, since it’s so often sunny that it never gets to feeling too dreary.

    But really, I’d be happy with anything but the muck.

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