Hello February!

 

               Here we are at the beginning of February again, still in the heart of winter.  Recent snow and now an impending ice event are pretty typical for the beginning of this month.  At least it’s a short month, and once we get through we are just weeks away from spring.  January felt really long, as it always does; I think because we were so busy from Thanksgiving in November until ringing in the New Year that January just feels like a huge let down.  When there is nothing really special going on and the weather decides that it means business the days just seem to drag.  Maybe that’s why Groundhog’s Day has become such a big thing around here—people need to focus on something outside of themselves and celebrating a rodent seeing or not seeing its shadow is a frivolous and lighthearted thing to do.  Of course football fans are now looking forward to the super bowl and the winter Olympics are starting so we have a bit of a break from nonstop virus coverage and controversy.  It’s a relief to think of something else for a little while!

               This is my birth month as well as my dear friend’s and so there are 2 celebrations that will be happening.  We will be celebrating each other from afar since we live about a 12 hours’ drive away.  Valentine’s Day is also this month so the stores are well stocked with red and pink things—candy, cards, stuffed toys, hearts, shirts, and all kinds of kitschy things to give your love.  Restaurants are advertising their V-Day specials, pizza places are asking for preorders of heart shaped pizzas that you can share with your loved one.  Let’s not forget Presidents’ Day and the fact that it is Black History Month as well as Heart Health month. Whew!  Lots of special things in February!  It’s another nice diversion from the wintry weather we get this month.

               Even though it’s a short month, and typically a cold and stormy one, I look forward to it.  Not just because of my birthday, but the sun is getting a little stronger and higher in the sky every day, and setting later as well.  Birds sing a little more even though the trees and ground may be covered in a blanket of snow and ice.  It’s a month filled with the promise of the coming spring.

The hydrangea keeps hold of the clusters of flowers and give a little shelter to small birds through the winter and a subtle color to the snowy landscape.

 

                                                    

I really like how the sun highlights the ice on the branch of this plant through the shadow of the deck railing.