Springtime in a Vermont February

Around where I live in far northwestern Vermont, spring is busting out all over. At least Vermont's version of spring. And it's a good month early.

Usually, there's a good foot of snow on the ground in mid-February, temperatures routinely hit zero or lower, and there's seemingly no hope of spring ever arriving.

Mid-February in Vermont? Spring daffodils
break ground in St. Albans. 

Today, I spotted a daffodil shoot coming up near a sunny corner of my shed. There's absolutely no snow on the ground. Sugar shacks are boiling maple sap to make syrup, a full month ahead of schedule.

Underfoot, it's squishy mud season. I've been able to get outside to do early spring chores, like cleaning up leaves, cutting brush and trees. I was even able to dig up some dirt in sunny, south facing areas as I work to expand perennial gardens

Of course, I have to do the work now, because the other shoe will drop. Come April, when I really want to go to town getting my gardens going, I guarantee, we'll get snowstorm after snowstorm.

Maybe we can make giant snowmen on Mother's Day. Or at this rate, they'll cancel Fourth of July fireworks because of the snowstorm?