Tag Archives: voles

We know it is springtime in Montana because the overnight warming shelter for our local homeless people has closed until next fall. We also know it is springtime because the voles are out and the grass hasn’t grown high enough to hide their trails. A third sign of springtime is the arrival and withdrawal of Robins.

Our winters begin much too early and drag on far too long. I have season envy when I see the cherry blossoms in Washington, D. C. and my Facebook friends post updates about putting their gardens in. It can and will be snowing and freezing here until late next month.

We don’t really have springtime here, we have Winter and July. At the moment we are simply experiencing a general thawing. A reluctant warming trend. Springtime is hitting nature’s snooze button.

I know, you all think I should stop complaining, after all, I am not homeless, I am not a vole and I have no naked, noisy mouths calling out for morning frozen worms.

Okay, I’ll stop, maybe I can plan the flower garden that I plant each May. I’ll check the pot of moss we tucked in the breezeway over the winter. I can organize the tools, empty some pots and buy some soil. Then I can put on a coat and some gloves and shiver on my front porch.

Don’t forget to enter my April Contest and don’t touch anything sharp!
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