The Snow That Won't Go

Sometimes in the winter it feels like we are performing an experiment in glacial growth in our backyard.

Our house is aligned with the front facing to the southwest and our back to the northeast. While we were looking for a house here in The Springs, our real estate agent said this was the way to go so that our front yard would thaw quickly after a snow. It's true! Sometimes we don't even need to shovel! But we never considered what that meant for our backyard. A large portion of our backyard doesn't see the sun in the winter because it is blocked by the shadow of our house, just like sections of a glacial mountain are blocked by the peaks. That blocked part of our backyard even has it's own climate. It can be 55 degrees out, but it's still only 38 degrees in that section. Hmmmm...I feel a science experiment coming on!!!

So from the first snow in the fall until spring is here and we have a good number of days in a row where the weather is warm, the snow will not go. We do not see the grass there. The snow gets old and dirty and ugly, but it stays. But while it stays it waters the lawn. Yes, when the grass reappears in the spring, it's the only section of grass that does not require hard work to bring it back to life!

Some people see the green tips of the crocus as the sign that spring has sprung. For us, when the seasonal glacier finally starts to recede, and across the entire dead brown lawn that is our winter backyard, a section of grass begins to appear that has living green blades among the sea of beige, that's how we know spring is on the way...! And how welcome you are, Spring!