And, Winter Arrived with a BANG!

Yep, Winter Comes to Minnesota

“Ok, mom, that’s enough, open the door, I’m coming in!”

Here we are, November 10^th and the snow is falling and falling and falling… here on the prairie, the wind has picked up and the temperatures are plummeting. I am not impressed. Neither is Eilsa. She has not even explored the corners of the yard today as her belly drags through the snow and no paths have been blown open for her. She sidles up to the garage wall to do her business and hurries back to the house with snowflakes peppering her freckled pink nose. At thirteen, she’s slowing down and the snow holds no appeal for her anymore.

The Kimberly Fern that’s been hanging out in the unheated garage with the blooming geranium. Now I need to find them homes in the house!

I still have spring bulbs to plant; they will now spend the winter under the steps in the three season porch and be forced during the winter. I will plant them in the spring and hope they bloom the following year. There are still daylilies in pots, they will survive and go in next year along with two hostas that never got a permanent home. This is the life of a Minnesota gardener. We have sixty degrees one week and eight inches of snow the next. The roses still have their leaves; a week ago two roses were still blooming. I have plants in the unheated garage that need to come into the house, geraniums that insist on blooming, gerbera daisies that have buds. It’s interesting, this challenge of seasons, some Novembers are warm and sunny, and others turn cold and brutal with snow. Perhaps we will have an early spring, we can only hope…

“Nope, no path that way….”

I need to take down the Halloween banners, find the ones for Thanksgiving and take down the Twins banner, replace it with the Vikings and put up the Timberwolves sign. I need to find my winter boots, my snow scraper and snow brush, gloves, scarves, hats and take the winter coats out of plastic. Soon it will be time to get out the reindeer for Christmas. Why did I procrastinate with these chores? Was I trying to delay winter’s arrival?

Courtesy of the MN DOT & State Hwy Patrol Accident on I94 Driver was not injured

The snow blower sits silently in the place we parked it last spring, the lawn mower is in the middle of my husband’s stall. The pickup sits outside. We need to organize the garage and get the two machines flip-flopped around so the season of winter can commence. Somehow, it’s just too early; the snow should have come the last week of November.

However, it’s here. There’s no stopping it so I will struggle to catch up and dream of warmer places and ocean breezes and sand between my toes.