Hibernation and the Anticipation of Spring

As I write this, another 5 inches of snow is falling on the farm. As many of you know, this month has been the winter of snow every few days. Our first snow of 22 inches has been replenished with three inches here, 5 inches there, another 8 inches here. It has been both beautiful and isolating. Quiet and lonely. In a year where many of us are staying at home due to the coronavirus, this winter has felt a lot like hibernation in both good ways and harder ways.

Last Friday, my tractor got stuck in the snow as I was taking a bale to my bull and his friends. The back wheels spun and spun, digging deeper into the snow until approximately a foot down, I could see grass. The green of my pasture was shockingly vibrant against the snow. It was a visual reminder that as we approach spring, the snow will begin to melt. The grass with the earth around it swollen with the plenty of snow melt, will feel the sun, and our pasture in the heat of spring will grow inches in a day. The hibernation of snow makes that spring growth and life possible.

As I choose to appreciate the snow, I want to remember that spring is right around the corner. That winter days make spring sun possible. So, today, as I warmed my hands from shoveling and taking another load of hay to my cattle, I made an advent calendar of sorts…a calendar that marks the advent of spring. Spring is when the piglets arrive, small and squirming, the calves are born, soft and sleepy, when the chickens roam, scratching and busy. We only have 26 more days of hibernation. Spring will soon here.

Want a copy of my Spring Advent Calendar? You can print it here: Printable Advent Calendar