From my Perspective: Hunkering down... Tucking in

Just last week I thought spring had arrived.

The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. I had that lighter feeling, the one I get when spring is about to take hold. Even though earlier than normal this year, it made me think I was ready tell the cold dark days of winter goodbye. What I forgot is that we hadn’t even had second winter yet. You native and long-time transplanted Montanans know exactly what I’m talking about. For those of you new to Montana, well, buckle up, we probably have at least three more rounds of this to go.

I truly appreciate all of the seasons in Montana - including the six to eight months of winter a year I’ve seen in Lincoln. It’s one of the reasons I love living here. That wasn’t always the case though. My first year here, it seemed the snow would never end. The sides of my plowed driveway were at least four to five feet high. I’d never experienced negative temperatures before, and that year gave us a dose of 30-40 below for several days and pipes that burst in the house I was renting at the time. I was grumpy. I was used to three, maybe in Pennsylvania, and none of those winters held a candle to Montana winters. Since that first year, I’ve changed my mind and my attitude.

With the warmer weather comes the return of my crazy schedule and traveling to teach. So far this year I’m slated to teach in Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Carolina and with any luck I’ll get to add Pennsylvania and New England to the list as well. I’m excited to get back on the road and do what I love, but there’s still a lot of preparation to do before I can.

Warmer weather also had me frothing to start my seeds indoors and get ready for another garden season, and spring cleaning has already begun in our little cabin in the woods. I’m still holding out on planting seeds for at least another month, so I’ll just continue to pour over seed catalogs and drool.

Warmer weather had me hopeful that I’d be able to sit on the deck with a glass of wine while I read a good book or cast on a new knitting project, all with the dogs close by at my feet. I’d listen to the birds, the breeze, and watch the deer graze carefully in the woods. Oh, how I love afternoons on the deck!

Warmer weather had me dreaming of spending time at the barn with my horse Missy Moonshine, getting ready to get back out on the trails with her, or taking the dogs with me on sunny afternoon walks. It had me thinking about landscaping projects, and of course, one of my favorite warmer weather tasks, stocking up on wood for next winter. Yes, that was a hint of sarcasm regarding the wood.

But then a winter storm pops in out of nowhere,

to remind me that it’s not that time yet. There’s still more wintering to do. There are still house projects that need doing, there’s still some hunkering down and settling in that need to be felt and experienced before all that warmer weather.

There’s still hot tea and cider by the fire to be had, still cozying up by that same fire with a good book that will take me off to another place and time. There’s still more sitting at my spinning wheel, creating yarn for upcoming projects. And of course, more winter knitting.

There’s still more hot soups and stews to simmer in the slow cooker, and last year’s frozen berries to be made into jams and jellies. There are still winter coats, gloves and boots to be worn before I get to pack them away for the season.

There’s still winter cleats to be warn, and “Lincoln shuffling over the ice” - and hopefully another snowshoe outing - before winter is gone for good this year. There are still winter photos to be taken … of the snow, of trees covered in snow, and the thermometer readings of negative temperatures.

No, winter isn’t done with us just yet. There are still some cold winter nights that require more hunkering down and as a friend so eloquently put it, tucking in. Tucking in has a much better connotation than hunkering down. And while the weather might be harsh, staying in and appreciating it doesn’t have to be.