The temperatures were in the 40’s yesterday and today – cold weather returns tomorrow – and Spring began to assert herself, life was unearthed. The last day we saw the earth was the day in January when Simon died and was buried, the snow and cold came the next day and stayed. If he had died a day later, we would never have been able to bury him on the farm, I’m not certain how we would have removed his body.

Today, signs of life. We found a mitten buried in January, the sheep figures – brought from the first Bedlam Farm, two very old  garden ornaments – emerged after months of hibernation under tons of snow and ice. We saw some grass and some soil. The farm is a mess, mud, manure and water all mixing together. Mud season seems to be here. Lambs are the purest sign of Spring.

The sunshine and relative warmth has allowed me to take a deep breath and admit that this was a difficult winter for us. My recovery from open heart surgery was very much underway, the farm was under siege from the worst cold I have seen here, and snow covered everything. We could not go outside for long, we spent a lot of time scraping and digging. Our frost-free gave out a few weeks ago, we burned through six cords of firewood for the stoves. Disney World seems like a century ago. We had one busted pipe and there will need to be some roof and gutter repairs.

The stoves performed heroically, the heating oil bills were shockingly low  even though the burner was on much more often than last year. Maria was nothing less than heroic, shoveling every day, chopping at ice, cleaning up manure in -22 temperatures. Many days, the manure had frozen to the ground, each chunk had to be dug out.  I worked alongside of her every single day, that was a beautiful thing. My medical advisers were divided about my shoveling snow, so I cast the deciding vote and did it every day, along with roof raking and cleaning out the barns and hauling hay to the animals. It felt good.

It was too cold to walk for a couple of months, we are happy to be walking again.

Some days, we could not be outside for more than five minutes. Tyler came over several times to help us shovel paths, and to repair them when the wind blew them apart. It was a lot tougher in some other places than here. I think this was the hardest winter I recall for the animals here, they are beginning to relax and seek more attention.  They are getting comfortable again. Red was astounding,  helping us keep order through the drifts and cold and wind. He made our lives easier and safer, I am appreciative of the great hearts and souls of working animals.

We planned well. We still have some firewood left, we have enough hay to get to late April. Vince Vecchio did a fine job plowing the driveway, keeping a lane open for the cars to get out.

I am grateful for Red every day. Some days he hopped up and down, the ground was so cold, he helped us every day.

So time to move along, we will have a messy Spring, lots of mud, water and some floods. We are giving our Manure Mountain to Scott Carrino, who wants it for his vegetable gardens at Pompanuck Farm, it is good stuff. We are planning an expansion of the Dahlia Garden, I am able to dig this summer and am looking forward to it.

For all of it, I loved working with Maria through this winter, she brings light to the coldest and darkest days. We have fun together, really, no matter what. We find ways to laugh and smile and connect to one another.

And I appreciate my heart, it keeps on healing and helping me to return to my life, and then some. Lucky, lucky, lucky, in so many ways.