Looking Forward

All set for a winter picnic

This week we were putting the final touches on the April/May issue of Lake and Home magazine, when our area got hit with what seemed to me to be the worst weather of our very long winter. They weren't our coldest days and certainly not the most snow we've gotten at any one time but it still feels like it was a pretty bad storm. I'm pretty sure the never ending snow this year is whats making every storm seem worse than the last. Seriously, just how many times should you have to shovel the driveway and sidewalk in a single winter?

Like most Minnesotans, I start thinking Spring somewhere around the 10th or 15th of March. And boy am I ready for it. The garden catalogs have begun arriving in the mail, local seasonal ice cream/drive-in type places that shutter their doors for winter have opened and the word "daffodil" has begun to be bandied about.

Freshly fallen snow near Phelps Mill

Despite all that, I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing any daffodils poking their pretty little yellow heads out of the ground anytime soon. They've got several feet of snow to push through at this point. We happen to live in town on a small lot and have had quite a time trying to figure out where all that snow goes and how high we really can pile it up.  The tallest pile is well over seven feet with several smaller five foot high piles surrounding it. If you squint, you can make it seem like mountains...but its just mountains of snow. We can only hope for a slow melt when it does begin so as to avoid an unpermitted swimming pool in the basement.

For now, a mere couple of days into Spring, we have dug our way out from nature's latest gift and are ready to face whatever the rest of the month brings weather wise.

We are off to the surrounding lakes today to snap a few winter photos to share with those of you who winter somewhere warm.  Meantime, we've got the April/May issue wrapped up and soon on its way to you. We are looking forward to your feedback and comments.

Yours truly,

Jan Ellis
Editor
Lake and Home Magazine
Email me directly at janeteellis@live.com