Spring Has Sprung (ALREADY...!)

Spring has ALREADY sprung here in Seattle - it's so wild it's disorienting and I keep getting lost every time I go outside. There are blooming flowers, budding trees, green shoots poking out of the ground, and happy people outside in big hats weeding their flower gardens. When I was in Minneapolis, and before that in Iowa, February was normally the time that you would become severely depressed or clinically insane (I usually flipped back and forth, depending on how sunny it was). It's SO cold for SO dang long that I wonder how I ever got through it. Here, it is very different. The winter was incredibly mild - we kept running outside without any trouble through the "worst" of it and the only layers I had to add on to keep warm was a polar fleece vest (thanks D & C!). Plus it stays relatively green - although a few trees lose their leaves, the grass stays very happy and many trees and bushes are leafy all year.

And NOW there are actually flowers blooming out there! it's incredible. I've been trying to get off my butt and go out and take some pictures of it to show you but haven't yet, maybe I'll get out this weekend. This weather is enough to make me want to grow some green beans. Except I have no idea what the growing season is here.

Oddly enough, despite the beautiful spring we're having here in Seattle, there has been tons of good snow outside of the city and we're actually going skiing in it tomorrow at Steven's Pass, which is only 2 hrs driving away.