The Winter Doldrums

So here we are in the (hopefully) latter part of winter. Environment Canada has put out a statement that winter is far from over. The rest of this month will be colder than usual and March will be much the same.

So the winter doldrums seem to hang on. Hopes of an early spring seem dashed as the temperature hovers in the high?? low?? (hmmm - is -18 high or low) teens.

We had a taste of what is to come in Calgary last weekend when the temperature climbed to +10, the air was sweet and layers of winter clothing were ripped off to accomodate the welcome warmth. The freezing rain and cold temperatures that we faced on the trip home brought us back to the reality that spring doesn't come in February in Alberta!

Sigh.........

Ah yes, the winter doldrums. The doldrums make us want to curl up under a blanket on the couch instead of walk on the treadmill, or even less make us want to head outdoors!. The doldrums make us want to eat comfort food instead of salad - yes, those dang doldrums seem to wreak havoc with the weight loss plan. The doldrums seem to slow down the incentive to sort and organize and tidy.

But thinking about the doldrums, perhaps they serve the purpose to make us rest before the sun starts to melt the snow and reveal the work we are facing. Perhaps the doldrums are meant to make us sit and dream and plan and envision what will be when the warm breezes make us want to walk outside, to dig in the garden, to plant new shrubs and flowers, to build ponds and rock gardens.

Even though these early days of February seem to hint at the promise of spring with the lengthening light, we are rudely reminded that winter still has its icy grip firmly on the landscape with one glance at the themometer. But we know that spring will come, and perhaps that is the most important lesson of the winter doldrums - patience.

I came across a saying by Herve Desbois

I learn to love the seasons, since we are made to live together.

I often lament that time is rushing by, life is going faster and faster as I get older. Perhaps it is because I am willing winter to pass, waiting for the next season to get here instead of living now, taking what the winter doldrums are offering - a time for rest, a time for planning, a time for dreaming.

Hmmmmm........................

Spring will come soon enough - it is a given. February is thankfully a short month following the seemingly endless month of January. And we know that March will bring those days that give us a taste of what is to come, days when the breezes are soft and sweet, melting away the snow to reveal the summers work. We know that March will tease us with these days only to remind us that winter is not too far behind us.

I think I will make a salad for supper!