Are we Out of this Deep Freeze? Come Back Soon!

It’s “false spring” in the Midwest, because freezing temperatures are still in the forecast and it’s too soon to move plans (started from seed in my basement) into the backyard. The winter hikes at the Metro Parks are a wrap, with the end of February – patches have been awarded, and hiking sticks selected by those who completed hikes at all 18 parks. I had my windows open last week, but I woke up to frost on the grass this morning.

We’re squirrely for spring, and so are the half dozen squirrels we’ve been feeding all winter, from feeders meant for the birds that stick with us, through the cold winter months.

There is time for one last look back!

I look back in appreciation of the beauty of complex geometric patterns in the February ice. I wax poetic about the wonders of thin ice in swampy areas that aren’t quite ponds, flooded forest floors, and wide expanses of prairie fields. We’ve seen a lot of ice under foot and overhead this year, along with snowflakes swirling in the air and covering the ground,

Is it spring yet? Almost – but we may miss winter when it’s gone. Well, some of us will welcome it back at the end of the calendar year! At a minimum, we’ll appreciate the changing of the seasons here in Ohio, each one easing into the next, showing us that what’s here today won’t remain. Life just isn’t static; that fact opens up hope for tomorrow.

Here’s a look at the “last freeze” of this 2021 – 2022 winter!