On False Spring and Winter Weary Muscles

By now I’m sure you’ve heard all about the bizarrely nice weather we’ve been enjoying here in the midwest. This past week was so amazingly warm that the ground was thawed, the robins were scratching at worms and the pussy willow buds began to swell.

I was able to celebrate this fantastic weather, as I had a few days off that happened to land right in the middle of it. I immediately set to dividing raspberry bushes, cleaning up strawberry beds and pruning currants and fruit trees. They never saw me coming. I worked hour after hours, for three days straight…

I was able to finish staking and trellising more than 200 feet lengthwise of raspberry bushes, and when I did the math I realized my berry patch will reach nearly 1/4 of an acre this year! I dug holes for currant bushes and blackberry vines that won’t arrive at my doorstep for another two months, but boy am I ready…

I began mucking the sheep stalls, and cleared brush and destroyed burdock; I tore up old fencing and replaced it with the new step-in electronet fencing for the sheep. They watched on eagerly as if they knew the work I was doing would provide them with new areas to graze. They had played all morning in the warm sun, kicking up their heels and sproinging along lightly through the grass, before settling in to stare at me and offer polite criticisms of “Baaaa” and “Mrrrrnnnn”.

I soon found myself chuckling at our German shepherd, Connor, who had found himself the most comfortable bed to lie in as he surveyed the land.

“The cutting greens bed is not for puppies!” I chided. I then proceeded to have a long and fairly one-sided conversation with him about how the canines need to stay out of gardens and how some day I was going to get that through his thick skull… and all the while I was missing the point.

Connor had, like the sheep, played hard in the warm springish air and then, also like the sheep, he had recognized he needed a break. He had found a quiet and comfortable spot to relax and took a nap, letting his winter-weary body bask in the sunlight.

I, on the other hand, took no breaks. I worked until I could no longer see for lack of sunlight, and the next morning I was up again doing the same things as the day before… and you know what?

I am now writing this post from my couch, snugged up with a heating pad, a laptop, a stiff drink and a pinched nerve in my back.

The critters knew better than I did. They knew that the weeks of cold had taken their toll, and that none of us are quite ready to launch back into warm weather routines. All I could see was the exciting promise of hustle and bustle of spring-to-come, and I desperately wanted to get a head start on that hustle and bustle. Alas, this evening I can barely stand without assistance. Ouch.

So I hear we’re supposed to have more of this beautiful weather this coming week, and if that is the case I have one thing to say to you…

Take it Easy. The spring will come soon enough.