It is so nice to go outdoors in a lightweight polar fleece jacket and a pair of ordinary shoes and spend some time in the garden. Huge piles of snow from the snowplow are thawing rapidly, the rest of the yard is nearly ice free and pools of water are collecting in the low areas. My first inspection revealed a lot of dead fall from the winter wind. We were pretty lucky and only a few small trees snapped in half, their branches strewn about haphazardly like pick-up-sticks. Several of our neighbors lost large trees, one was at least 16″ in diameter.
I filled the wheelbarrow several times with blown down twigs and dragged the fractured tree trunks to the clearing near the road creating a mound of tinder to burn. My next chore is to rebuild the shredded trellises in the vegetable garden, this time I’ll use twine that doesn’t rot. A giant cottonwood tree died standing and is too close to the garage, we will have the tree cutters dismantle and chip it to use for pathways in the garden.
Winter is clearly over and spring is on the way. I saw the first green shoots of the onion plant, emerging through the remains of dried dead leaves. And, a weed is already turning green. But, living on a lake we are constantly reminded of winter. The surface is still frozen 2-3′ deep. Canada geese circled overhead seeking the temporary ponds in thawing hay fields, and my spirits soar like the geese at this time of the year. It is hard to stay indoors and work in the studio.
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist
