Jen and I were weaving the other night, and we argued. I said it was going to snow, that the rain would turn to ice, then snow… and Jen said it wouldn’t. I started to try and convince her. I reminded her of some pretty simple laws of physics that say that if it’s 0º and raining- and it’s getting colder as the big burning ball of light slips below the horizon, that pretty soon rain is snow – but Jen didn’t want to hear it. She told me all the reasons that rain was better than snow- and said them like the planet was going to be convinced. "Rain means spring!" she claimed, and I looked at her and tried to figure out why any proper lifelong Ontarian would be under any freakin’ delusions at all that an early March rain might mean spring. Spring is a ways off, I started to tell her, and then I saw that look in her eyes. I see it on almost everyone right now, and I shut my mouth. That look says "I don’t know how much more winter I can take. I’m starting to get a little squirrelly about it, and if you’re going to harsh on my spring-is-coming-and-the-rain-proves-it delusion, then I might wig out. Spring is coming. There will be no more snow. This is rain, not snow – lalalalalala."
I didn’t say much after that. We both knew that the rain was a big nasty-ass faker, and that it would turn to snow and that we’d be freezing and shovelling again… and we just gave up the conversation because no matter how used you are to the winter, it’s just a demoralizing thing in March, and we just had different approaches. Jen liked denial, and I like reality. I find the crushing of hope even more demoralizing than March snow. I prefer to have no hope, besides, if you let March snow get to you, then how on earth are you getting through April snow? Better to dwell happily in the land of doom than rail against it.
This is what I was thinking when I got up Sunday morning and there was a fresh dump of big snow. I saw that, I stomped around for a few minutes just to get the impotent rage out of my system, then I finished a quick pair of socks while I thought about improving my lot. 
Spud and Chloe Sweater 55% wool/45% cotton in pink and cream, knit up for a friend’s friend’s daughter who’s recovering from surgery and needs to be cozy. No pattern, just one I keep in my head. There’s a (deliberate) difference in the sizing between the two socks, so I reversed the colours on the second one so she could quickly tell the difference between right and left. Worsted weight socks are speed demons. It felt like it took longer to weave the ends in than it did to knit them – which is not true, but it’s cool that it felt that way. 
While I drank my coffee, the answers came to me. I would do two things so that I didn’t feel completely miserable about the snow.
#1. I would cast on my March socks – and I rigged the system to pull the ones I needed. 
Giotto, being knit in Dream in Colour Smooshy, in Spring Tickle, because no matter how dim it seems now, this month we will definitely see a sign of spring. It will be green, and it is coming. (The first kit I pulled out had grey socks in it. I observed Denny’s rule. No knitting grey in March. There’s too much grey already.)
#2. I would remember that winter has it’s own charms,
that I love Canada despite this (and despite muttering something about it’s forsaken nature while trying to chip a block of ice the size of Finland out of my damn recycling bin for the 47th time this year) 
and think of that fabulous song. 
Mon pays, ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver. – Gilles Vigneault. 
It means "My country is not a country. It is winter."
Chin up.
Its still winter here too.
Can’t believe I was first….without even trying.
Beautiful post. Thank you (from N. California, where it is spring all year (mostly)).
With you all the way — but then you chose pictures of winter in shades of gray?
And I’m sure you and Spillyjane each have a reason for preferring to weave ends in rather than knit them in as you go (we’ll ignore her claim that she enjoys it) and it’s impossible for me to believe you don’t know how, but the next time I cross the border I’m hunting her down in Windsor and you down in Toronto and no celebrating will take place until I’m satisfied y’all know the exTREMEMly easy trick for knitting ends in. If it turns out you really do prefer to knit them in I will take you by the hand and gently help you to seek therapy.
But not till spring’s here.
You’re a better man than I, Yarn Harlot. I couldn’t bear a country that was winter.
I hear you about the end of winter-seems to drag on forever. Here in our part of the US (northern Indiana) it’s pothole season again-and yes, around here “potholes” are a season unto themselves. What knitters really need are bright spring-color yarns in heavy winter weights. Any chance you could put in a word on our behalf?
Yes, about this time of winter we totally despair of any hope of spring here in northwestern Ontario. Just had the winter carnival last weekend, no lack of snow and ice, minus 26C on the thermometer this morning, still knitting scarves and mits. Hmmm, maybe it’s my fault and I should start knitting spring sweaters and tank tops. There have clearly been too many wool socks and warm mittens knitted this winter. Then when the weather finally starts to change sometime around June (please God, sometime before that.) I could take just a tiny bit of credit for being ready. Also, not real pleased with the weatherman predicting a cold spring. Good thing he’s on the radio and I can’t actually get my hands on him for clearly lying to us because I have to believe that the 3′ of snow still outside my window will melt sometime before opening weekend of fishing season, the open water version, not the hard water version.
Love that song!
Yep, we had that freeze here too last night. My sympathies.
That’s a beautiful shade of green.
Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry for your winter angst. I won’t tell you that here in Texas, the lettuce, radishes, onions, tomatoes, leeks, beans and cucumbers have already sprouted in my garden if you don’t tell me in September (when it’s still in the 90’s (f) here) that the leaves are starting to turn and the weather has turned cooler. DEAL?
This is the time of year in Duluth, MN where my husband and I say, “in a month we can take the tarp off the boat”, as if that is somehow reassuring, given that we got 3-4 inches of snow last night. My parents just leave for San Diego every March, saying that Minnesota in March is just too much. Of course, they have been known to come back in April in snowstorms. I keep trying to knit with cotten, thinking that this will mean spring is coming, too. Aren’t we all silly?
It’s the ice here in coastal Maine that is killing me :*(
The green socks are perfect. Hold that thought!
I’m in Montréal, and there’s over a foot of snow on the front balcony, where Saturday water was dripping… I knew it was coming, but I still felt like crying when I woke up!
Denny’s rule is very sensible, *no one* should be around the colour grey these days!
Can’t believe you are quoting Gilles Vigneault in French, merci beaucoup! I feel suddenly much closer to you!
Just this am at coffee someone asked me if this is the last snow of the season. Well, no, it’s supposed to snow again on Wednesday, although the predicions have moved the storm somewhat south. And the State Basketball Tournament is the weekend after next. In Minnesota, it is traditional, no, de regeur, to have a blizzard during the BB Tournament. And like Ontario, April isn’t usually without at least a few inches of temporary white fluff. Makes Spring more appreciated.
and I was proud of myself for finishing one baby sock in a day. Two worsted weight? Maybe you’d already started? That’s probably it. Ahh, there I see… “finished” not started and finished. I feel better about my baby sock now. 🙂
And those socks seem just the thing to take the edge off.
Another post that made me cry. I also live in Ontario. I’m coping with my parents’ recent separation, as well as going through a breakup right now myself, as well as facing winter, and your “chin up” seemed to apply to all those situations. Thanks for the motherly advice.
Well, we have 2 feet of new snow here this morning. It is ridiculous, and we cannot even get out of the garage today, as the drifts are 5 foot deep in front of the garage doors. No driving today. Searching through for some green yarn to begin a little Pretty thing…but in spring colors.
Heh. Haven’t heard a reference to “Mon pays” in ages. Would you believe that most of my youngish (i.e. early 30s) Quebecer co-workers have never heard that tune? Or that they might not be sure they’d heard of Gilles Vigneault? But they do all know who Lady Gaga is. Sigh.
Here in south central Wisconsin, we are expecting rain, mixed maybe with snow, not much (I am keeping my fingers crossed.) I am so ready for Spring, although it means cleaning dog doo out of the yard. We seemed to always have a snow storm during State Basketball Tournament.Also during wrestling tournament time too.My knitting wants to be able to be taken out doors where it can breathe fresh air and see the sun.Is it too much to ask
Urgh, yes. There’s always that day when you think there is light at the end of the tunnel… And it turns into the train…
Really, by the end of April we are safe, but I don’t wash the kids’ snowpants in mid-March anymore, thinking I can stow them away till December.
Take heart, I’ve seen two pair of Canadian geese today — a sure sign of spring!! In no time at all, they’ll be mucking up the parks and golf courses.
I’m actually kind of sad that the massive Boston snows of January have so quickly turned to unseasonable 45 degrees and raining.
Oh, I hear you loud and clear over here in Manitoba! It is a bright and sunny -21 C this morning in Winnipeg, and I’m thinking about when the snow might consider melting…just a little. Not enough for a flood or anything, just, you know, so I can remember what the ground looks like! In fact, I’ve been resisting the urge to cast on bright colors just to anticipate what spring might look like–in May. Enjoy that bright green knitting…you’ve got the right idea!
It’s so lovely and quiet in the snow. I know, I know… I’m glad you’re knitting and Dreaming in color when it’s so endlessly monochromatic out there.
Oh, I thougt I was tired of winer here in DC. But wow- more snow. Chin up- nothing stays the same, it only feels that way.
My mother has been looking at the melting snow in the park across from us and shouting “It’s spring! It’s spring!”
I’m not saying anything, because if I agree with her, sure as anything, it will snow a foot. (plus, I live in the maritimes. It doesn’t do to get too cocky.)
Also… I’m knitting gray. A very gray sweaters worth of gray.
I feel your pain and know I don’t have the mental fortitude to live up there. You Canadians are tough stuff. (but you already knew that)
For amusement, down here in DC both of my children were born in March, and for both it was rain-snowing when I went to the hospital and 80 degrees F when I brought them home.
Hmm, I hate March snows. April snow is worse. April snow can snap your spirit. Thankfully, I have never seen a May snow. Living now miles south of such threats, I spent the weekend finishing up a raised bed for veggies. Cover crop is turned under and spring bed goes in the dirt in 3…2…1…
Hang in there, and know you are rewarded for your winter woes with a full four seasons!
Mon pays, c’est l’hiver. Exactly. We are stuck under a snow globe which hasn’t moved, ain’t going anywhere. At least when it snows, you know it’s around 0C– and not -25.
Rams: I will check w/my LYS about knitting in ends. Thanks for the tip; I hate weaving in ends.
Well, I’m afraid that glorious dump of snow, caused me to drop an F-bomb on Saturday morning when I opened the door to let the dogs out. Poor dumb dogs, didn’t understand the explosion…
You have recently seen how people in Washington and Oregon react to snow. I decided to change my mind and throw down my credit card and do something wild,definitely a reaction to surviving a difficult winter and celebrate the coming of spring by… GOING TO CAMP after all !
See you there:)
Here in Lubbock, Texas where I live, spring is so short that you could miss it if you sneezed.
A northern (to a Texan that is anyone from north of Oklahoma) reporter once interviewed a west Texas cotton farmer. He asked him about spring in this part of the country. The farmer scratched his head, wrinkled his brow, and said, “Usually happens on a Wednesday.”
However short spring is in my part of the world, we love the blooms on ornamental fruit trees, until the wind kicks up and starts blowing sand.
Ah yes. The eternal.winter. it could be worse. What we get over Herr in Nor Cal is “fake spring.” Usually in February. A couple weeks of warm, sunny weather. But come March grey and wet. April WILL come.
Love your S&C socks! One day I’ll buy some.
You should really plan some “business trips” to Florida this time of year before it gets too hot.
Love the socks. Just started knitting my first socks – size 12 plain socks for my hubby. Now I’m hyperfocused on sock designs/colors. I now understand the sock addiction. For goodness sake, I’ve gotta keep it together because I live in Florida where socks are optional!
But … it’s above freezing. That means it’s spring. I refuse to listen to anyone say differently. *fingers in ears*
Beautiful pictures. Snow is lovely. The first day.
My thanks, too, for the Gilles Vigneault. When you haven’t heard it in a while its resurfacing is like hearing it for the first time.
We are having the drippy part of spring right now ourselves here in PEI, so good to know that the dirty snow may again be covered with clean. Yeah.
We never look for spring until after March Break, having travelled in, through, and just after, snowstorms for the 15 years our girls were in school. Chin up indeed. Daylight Saving Time starts next weekend!
In Toledo, ohio we had the rain turn to snow also. What gets me thru, is the Snow melts faster in March.
Love the green socks! and the pink. and your blog. Being a southern (TN/MS border) girl, my blood is thin and I have difficulty with cold weather, but have become so addicted to knitting that I was actually wondering about moving somewhere colder so that I could justify buying more wool.
Thanks for the pictures. They’re great also.
Chin up; cheerio; pip,pip! This, too, will change.
That’s how I feel about summer in Phoenix. August gives us brief rainy “cool” (which means it only gets to 99) but September and October still have plenty of 100+ days, while the rest of you are thinking about sweaters and frost on the punkins. We are almost through spring and approaching summer, and I’m NOT HAPPY.
-28 here in Manitoba this morning.
I refuse to have hope in March, too. I survive March, I distract myself through March, I manage March.
Hope is for April.
It could be worse. You could be in Minneapolis where it is colder and snowier than Toronto!
Also you said Finland so here goes.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
It’s the country for me.
Verse: You’re so near to Russia,
So far from Japan.
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.
Chorus: Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.
Verse: You’re so sadly neglected,and often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.
Chorus: Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.
Repeat: Finland, Finland, Finland.
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
Finland has it all.
Fade: Finland has it all…
Also Spring Tickle is one of my fave colorways of all time!!!
We have 2 seasons in Upstate NY: winter and construction 🙂
Today we have more snow here in South Dakota. I think we should all be blessed with a special spring break bank account – you know, the kind that is just always there, waiting to send us to Mexico!
I don’t know why it is that this year winter just seems to be going on forever. Each snow since Christmas has been more depressing than the last. And let’s not discuss the ice, sleet and slush. More snow yesterday in Northeastern Ohio – just a dusting, but snow nonetheless. I know that spring is coming. I have seen both robins and the brave heads of flowers poking thru the snow. But it can’t come soon enough this year.
daffodils are poking through the earth here.
maybe you’ll see spring in april?
I am in Virginia, and we had some snow here last night after being deluged with rain all day long. On top of the green we have (6″ of daffodil growth up close to the house).
I find it very interesting that if you change one letter of Winter en Francais you get Shiver. It cannot be a coincidence. I bet if we look it up, shiver has a French root base. 😉
The color you chose for Giotto is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for March knitting. Perfect.
VT is enjoying a blizzard today. Wouldn’t be so bad except heavy March snows lead to flooded basements. Love the Finland song from Spamalot!
Last night, in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, drivers were behaving as though it were spring. At six pm, I was making my way home from work in an inch of freshly-fallen and still accumulating snow and I encountered cars without lights, moving cars covered in snow, and cars traveling much faster than common sense would allow, given the conditions.
Your friends delusions are innocent when compared to the delusions of my fellow twin-citians…
At 8000 feet elev. in Colorado, we get a long winter too. Lots of snow in March, plenty in April, even some in May. I feel your pain. And I hate when people tell me spring is coming when I know it’s not, gah!
Maybe I need some worsted weight socks to cheer me up.
Having moved to Sweden last summer from the UK – where it might snow once or twice per winter (and still send the country to a standstill), we’re now into our fifth month of snow on the ground and I’m yearning to see a hint of green or a nice spring flower! A slow thaw has started now, and despite warnings of more snow on the way, I’m in the same camp as your friend!
Here in my part of California (Silicon Valley) the most snow we can hope for is a light dusting on the hilltops. A few weeks ago, I awoke to a few centimeters of snow on our deck; it melted away by 10 am, but was lovely while it lasted. This is the most we’ve had in over 20 years, so my kids (age 15-22) were quite excited.
Despite the lack of snow, I, too, am ready for winter to be over. I am also knitting “spring” socks. Mine are a pair of Lucy Neatby’s Almost Saintly socks in spring colors: bright blue for the solid and lime/yellow/blue for the variegated. These feel like spring to me not only for the colors, but also for the laciness of the design (the socks are almost saintly because they are so “holey”). I will post a picture of this WIP soon: jamieknits.blogspot.com/
How funny that I just finished a project in those exact colors of Spud and Chloë! Your project is a bit more useful than mine (toy mice), but both are adorable!
This weekend we notice little shoots of green grass in amongst all the dead grass of the backyard. It makes my heart soar!
Read the first part of your post about knitting those pink & white socks while getting the snow-rage out of your system, and thought you had cast on, knit & finished a complete pair of socks all in one short sitting. I immediately thought, “HOLY COW WOMAN…how fast do you (bleep)-ing knit????? Stop making the rest of us look bad!” Then I re-read it and saw that you “finished” a pair of socks. I feel slightly better about my knitting skills now.
March snow doesn’t really bother me. It’s supposed to snow in winter (I tell myself). Besides it cleans up the filth which is being exposed by the melting piles and reflects the light. And we are gaining significant minutes of sunlight every day (unless of course we get 48 hours of continuous drizzle).
HOWEVER, I draw the line at April snow. It deserves, and gets, screaming temper tantrums. It tries to kill the new spring growth and makes me feel like I’M being smothered! If I could ever go away for a winter vacation, I would never come back until after April 10th or so. That’s usually pretty safe, even in northern Connecticut.
First things first. LOVELY socks. All of them. The only thing worse than waking up to fresh fallen snow is sitting by the window all night watching it accumulate and not being able to stop it. THAT WAS PAINFUL!
With everything crazy going on in this country (US) right now, my first instinct is to RUN north to Canada. I love its people, but I.Just.Can’t.Get.Past.The.Winters. I guess that makes me a wimp.
The lovely colors look like swirls of taffy..and we are expecting a spring snow storm here in Kansas too…Spring is just around the corner:)
It’s wind storm season in Vancouver. It’s also hovering just above freezing. The sun is out, though, so it’s a good day.
OMG, I want pink now. I don’t know why but the scroll-down on those sock pictures all I could think was… dang, now I need some pink. Pink pink pinkedy pink.
I’m just excited because we’ve got under 3 feet of snow in my South facing front yard that gets full sun for the first time since end of December. I think it makes me weak (for pink ;-).
Steph
How nice of you to make those lovely socks for a friend’s friend’s daughter. I was reminded this morning that Lent might be a really nice time to make something for someone else; just a nice surprise to help someone feel appreciated, warm and cozy.
March – in like a lion and out like a lamb – I am watching for the lamb…
C’est vrai. As a lifelong Michigander I am totally with you on the non-denial thing. Makes the Easter snow easier to take. I do have one firm rule though…I will not shovel after the first day of spring. No matter how much snow we get. Love that green!
Here’s a little distraction from winter: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/science/08silk.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp ,since I know you are a silk fan. Some really cool pictures in the slideshow. It combines my fiber fascination with my nerdy scientist side.
I’ll take snow over cold rain any day. We used to live in a place that had snow from September to May. Anything less than that is as awesome.
My birches are doubled over with ice, and my heart breaks a little every time a limb falls, even a small one. It’s still snowing, and I fear it won’t thaw enough today to release the ice.
But your socks are lovely, and now I definitely have to meet rams to learn the secret of the knitting in of ends, though I probably would be slow to convert.
The spring that comes through the concrete in the barn has awakened. I really need for that NOT to become a skating rink. Think heat. Even 40 degrees would do.
Here in Michigan we’ve still got snow, with more to come. We actually have four seasons here: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Road Repair.
If we get any more significant snow this week, I’m going to have to ask for help. Everyone in my house is down with the flu. Such fun.
I admit to gazing at my yarn stash, looking at the pretty colors, just to cheer myself up. Too sick to knit at the moment, but getting better!
Hope you don’t mind but I skipped all that stuff about winter the first time I read this entry. All I saw was winter, ice, la la la, oh look pretty socks. I’m so over winter.
Out here in God’s land (west of Calgary), we keep on reminding ourselves that we are in God’s country. These nasty windchills are setting everyone on edge!
Everyone gets so desperate to go camping on the May long weekend in the mountains and it always snows on May long weekend-the city is fine. (Thankfully that is snow that only lasts for a bit.)
April is what we hope for more spring/less winter. March is still winter.
Can I point out to the rest of the world that not all of Canada is covered in snow? Or would that just be cruel?
I saw a robin yesterday. There is hope.
We’re supposed to get 3-6″ of snow tomorrow (down from the original estimate of 17″) – and this year is certainly becoming a challenge, even for we native Minnesotans. Yay for pink and white socks, and your Giotto’s look lovely. 🙂
Those pink socks are very springy! I love the reversing to label the left/right! I assume that there is a reason, and I hope that they help her….but really, they *must* help, what girl wouldn’t be delighted with those socks???
I have been going through soem old photos from the 40s and 50s taken in eastern ND. One is dated Sep 17 and shows unmistakable snow fall, the other is dated May 1 and shows, again, unmistakable new snow. As you live further north, spring CAN be far away. Of course, the slower it comes, the less flooding we can hope for in ND. It rarely works that way, predicitons are for near record floods, but we can hope.
Is that a W&T heel, or an afterthought heel? For some reason I thought you were a heel flap & gusset kind of gal.
I’ve been wrestling with socks for the past month and I’m sure I’ll finally have a nice pair of warm woolie ones just in tine for lawn mowing season. 🙁
The snow is melting today and that’s that. That’s the last of it. La la la la la….
The green socks are perfect for beating down the remnants of winter! The girl’s socks are very pretty, and I bet they’ll cheer up the recipient easily.
PS-I decided that I can’t wait for a cheap enough wheel to come along, so I bought a spindle to hold me over until I can get a wheel. I’m dangerously obsessed already. My bank account is weeping and Etsy is rejoicing.
Ugh. And we don’t even have snow here, we have rain! I keep looking at pictures of last year, in the summertime. And every time I look at it and think, “I remember when I used to be happy.” Oh delicious spring, would you please hurry up?
LOVE that last photo with the iron gate/fence and snow. It’s beautiful!
i am sick of winter too, not that we’ve had a lot of snow, but the gray is almost unbearable.
I have a tool question for you too. What do you use to wind your yarn balls?
I saw the beginnings of crocuses peeking out of the earth in a couple of New York City’s parks this weekend. Take heart, O fauna, they said: it’s coming.
I live in the moutains of BC and people are whining about the snow and is it ever going to go away? It is only the first week in March and this is what spring is like – six inches of snow that melts two days later followed by two days of -10C with some sunshine and a rain showers thrown in for good measure. When the snow stops, that’s called summer.
Nice green socks. Very springy. But notice that first you had to knit pink. So I’m going to start a top in Manos Maxima Fire and melt that snow we got on Sunday. LOL. Then maybe some green ….Got to ward off that June snow also…
I feel for you…. we had a rainy couple of days (you know it’s been cold when the temps get in the 40’s F and it feels WARM) and then woke up to a foot of snow over about 3 inches of ice… minions had a snow day, and the air is filled with the sound of spinning tires as my neighbors get stuck trying to get their cars out of their driveways and the kids got a snow day from school….
Right now, I love winter and I want winter to hang on a bit longer (I know, I know. But it’s true). I am new to Fargo, ND and we’ve had a very long, snowy winter. All that snow means only one thing: Flooding. If spring comes too early and too quickly, our town will flood. So I may be a chorus of 1 when I say, dear winter, please stay just a little bit longer.
I have to confess–it was with some relief that I saw you pictures of heavy, wet snow on the branches and thought “Hey, at least that band of snow stayed to the south & didn’t hit us. That much could mean yet another layer of sandbags.”
In Fargo, where the seasons have changed to Summer, Fall, Winter, & Flood.
Well, we did get rain here in Maine, but the temperatures are such that all it did was coat everything in a nice, thick layer of ice. I kid you not, there is a layer of ice covering the siding on my house! A number of my friends have said that spring is almost here. I look around and wonder what sort of drugs they’ve been using… It will be spring in May.
Wow! Now I’m feeling depressed! I’m going to go knit a spring green baby sweater for the (almost) spring baby of mine due in April. 🙂 That should cheer me up!
For some of us, a sure sign of spring is when The Harlot starts to knit in shades of green.
I love snow, but do feel for all of you up there in the tundra north. At some point, you just want the snow to be gone. Even with such lovely photos of it. 🙂
Very fun socks … and no, I’m still not doing socks. Hanging tough, am I.
Greetings from Finland :), enjoying your post.
We have had a lot of SUN here lately. It keeps up the hope of spring, though we have snow up to our ears.
The socks look adorable and cozy 🙂 Soon, my preciousssss, sssspring will come sssssssoon.
if it helps, we’re sort of insanely jealous down here in VA because we really only got one snow (well, to be fair, it might only be me who’s insanely jealous). I know that’s not much cosolation — I really really know because I went to school in Chicago — and then promptly moved back south — I could never really explain to people that I didn’t mind the *winters* — love the snow, don’t even mind the temperature (even the 40 below) — I just thought that winter should really be over sometime in March!
Snow is a sign of civilization.
Did you ever see the film, “Bye Bye Brasil”? It has one of my favorite lines:
“Agora, como em todo país civilizado, o Brasil também tem neve”.
(‘course, I am hoping to go to New Orleans next week, which is considerably warmer than Minnesota).
As a Vermonter who just shoveled 5 (literally) feet of snow off my deck that fell/drifted since yesterday THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I pine for spring like a lost lover and know we have some months to go.
Today, neighbors snowshoed over to offer help clearing our drive, we delivered warm dinner to another neighbor we know had been plowing all night, and people are rotating through each other’s crazed snowbound children for impromptu neighborhood play dates. This is why we get to brag about our foliage. This is why we can sit on our butts in the sun. This is winter and it is beautiful.
I have to agree with you, having no hope is just easier. On the other hand, that last photograph is so beautiful in it’s simplicity, it’s hard to associate hopelessness with a post that includes it.
Also, how is it rigging the system to follow the no-gray rule? I mean, it’s a Rule. You must not knit the gray. End of story.
The other day during the daytime snow, I played imagine that it’s October/November and you’re feeling the little kid excitement about the first snow of the year. That worked for about 10 minutes.
Yesterday it snowed nearly all day, everything was covered — but it never stuck to the road or sidewalks. Rather a more perfect sort of snow.
But here, in Pittsburgh, at least the sun seems warmer now when we see it. I’m sure it’s 90% in my head, 10% reality, but it seems brighter. And now I’m goint to sit in the patch of sun on the kitchen floor and enjoy it!
Oh, in this the longest comment of nothing ever, I just clicked on the yarn, thinking I hadn’t seen it before and lo and behold the LYS (or L’ishYS, it’s not in walking distance like the other two) that has it is the same one that I just bought a $15 buys you $30 of stuff “groupon” for — this will be the kick in the pants that I need to go spend it!
Snow is so much better than rain. Last Monday, 2/28 here in Northeast Ohio (near Cleveland) we had a huge freak rain storm (thunder, lightening, the works); approximately 8cm of rain fell in a few hours. Trouble is, we already had 12″+ of wet snow on the ground. Much of the area flooded, including my neighborhood and every house on my street. (Our sump pumps and basements are sound, but when the storm drains back up and people nearby are being rescued by boat…well, it’s a wonder it wasn’t any worse).
Let me just say, snow never ever floods your basement and ruins a tote of sock yarn. (My stash was in totes which are not water safe when there is enough water (imagine 26cm of water) to float the totes and cause them to tip over.
I have spent the last few days figuring out what can be washes and saves (hanks) and what is ruined (most everything else).
Worse than the yarn lose even, was a the loss of a box we have been looking for since we moved here 6 months ago which contained all of the baby books and mementos (first lock of hair, etc.) from our only daughter’s childhood. We had guessed that the movers put it where it didn’t belong (in this case a corner of the basement); we never imagined how awful that would be.
I wasn’t a big fan of rain before; I much prefer winter and snow. (And before you tell me that I don’t know snow, I have lived — in addition to Cleveland — in Alaska and Wisconsin. I know snow.) I really hate rain now.
Snow. Any. Day.
I shall bookmark this post, and add it to the collection of posts I keep to view in mid-September, to remind me why I live where I live (south Texas) and not where you live, when the umpteenth week of summer has me wondering just why the heck that is.
And then I will leave my computer and go outside and view the wildflowers, which have been out for 6 days already. 🙂
I always thought that if March was a person they would probably be one of those impossible teases. You know the kind, they run hot and cold and you never know where you are with them. They can be warm and charming and in this certain light they are almost beautiful,and you have had a glass of wine and your tired and they lead you along and you so want to believe them because they promise you a world of spring, And then SLAM! Back to -40 a truck full of snow in your driveway and snowsuits. HMMMMMM.
Grey? Check
Rain? Check
Snowpack still intact? Check
Creek rising, storm drains blocked? Check
Plunging temps tonight? Check
First day of “Spring” 2 wks away? Check
The snow does look pretty. All the same, I’m glad it is in your yard and not mine.
Good choice on the socks. No grey in March, indeed.
Thank you for such a great post Stephanie. I too am dealing with a group of delusional people. They are actually saying that this is the worst winter yet ! Duuuuu!!! Who the heck brain washed them into thinking that winter ends the end of Feb?? I just roll my eyes shake my head say nothing and smile at these poor darlins. Lovely socks and what a great idea for changing colours for each foot. Great.
Ah, I have this conversation at work almost daily. I’m the realist in the mix. I don’t like it but I’m not delusional. It is hard when these more southern bloggers post photos of THEIR spring, though, the kind with real plants living outside right now! Hanging tough, indeed.
Okay, who put away the snow shovel or the boots? That’s our superstition here in Montana – neither can be put away until after Memorial Day. Not that I haven’t seen snow in June . . .
Love the pink socks even though I hate pink – my mom dressed me in it too much when I was a babe. But other people can wear it.
Love the socks – my 11 year old had surgery in October and would’ve loved such a cozy thoughtful gift, as I know this lucky girl will.
As a Canadian who has slowly been thawing out in California for the last 7 years, I actually miss winter. I miss the longing and waiting for spring – the pain of winter makes the spring sweeter. Disgusting aren’t I?
Oh my gosh, it’s so true, isn’t it? Even though i am born and bred Canadian, I have that crazy look in my eye… sadly, my husband is one of THOSE people who would be happy if winter went on forever. I demanded that this be the last week for the ice rink in the backyard, because I simply can’t handle it any longer.
Knitting pink white and orange myself today.
My sentiments almost exactly. I live in Wisconsin. Wish the governor here understood that destroying the quality of life here will only leave us with long, dark winters. We really can’t brag about the winters.
Yeah, I was pretty disgusted when my husband told me the rain had turned into snow. In hindsight, it was quite foolish to hope for spring this early. Sigh.
I agree that you should not knit grey right after finishing big brown socks which happen to look grey on my computer screen. Totally.
I love the pink and white socks! That Spud & Chloe yarn is so nice to knit with, but my “cream” doesn’t look as pretty white as yours.
Probably just the dolor via internet. 🙂
A few crocuses are bravely pushing up through the earth in our garden, though we have some leftover snow in the neighborhood. We’re on the sunny side of the street, where signs of spring make us smile, even when (especially when) our teeth are chattering from the cold.
“Brava!” to you, for staring winter in the eye — and coping.
hahahahahaha I’m with you – poured and was warm(ish) you know, relatively speaking…yesterday – puddles, melting snow, fog i.e., gross. Still warm and raining this morning – this afternoon, sun came out and it was SNOWING! lol If we don’t laugh at this “wait a minute and the weather will change” then we’d crack up! Love the “spring looking” toasty socks 🙂
It’s not snow. It’s white rain. White rain comes in the month of March (sometimes April and May as well) but it’s mostly water. It looks like snow. But it’s not.
LOVE your song!
I have finally managed to diagnose my condition and it’s official: I have snow-envy.
About two weeks ago we got an arctic blast through here (Bay Area, CA) in which snow was predicted down as low as 500 feet and the entire populace practically wet itself in anticipation. It DIDN’T snow that low, and as a consequence, everyone’s spirits were low instead. I WISH I lived someplace it snowed, only on weekends, and maybe just once or twice a year. *SIGH*
One way I’ve been warming up is to knit some armbands. Knitters in Boston are soliciting armbands to commemorate textile workers who died in factory fires. I think it’s just such a beautiful metaphor, and I thought you might be interested.
http://www.microrevolt.org/146+/index.htm
I did the same thing, for opposite reasons, recently. We’re in Australia, and we’ve been having a few DOOZY heat-waves. So there I was, knitting a woollen sock in 40-degree heat. I felt it was the ultimate in optimism… “One day it *will* be cold again!”
Now I have Startitis, looking at your pretty, pretty socks.
We only got a dusting here, but it still crushed my soul to see it. I love those socks!
I want to live somewhere where it snows maybe a trace, once a year, and promptly melts, and doesn’t rain much either. I used to live in Las Vegas, and right now that’s my kind of perfect. The ground is so completely waterlogged here in Indy from a winter of unrelenting snow, followed by epic ice (nobody can ever remember 4″ of solid ice) followed by more snow, followed by epic rain, that my septic system is now refusing to deal with the output of the washing machine. I’ll be at the laundromat if you need me. And it’s supposed to rain, then snow again. Sigh.
I’m in denial too – it’s the start of Autumn here and I’m trying to ignore it. We are coping with the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake here in new Zealand and although we now have power reconnected, it is courtesy of a temporary cable, so we can’t run more than the minimum appliances. This means we have now hot water and can’t run heaters. Thanks goodness for hand knitted socks!
Great post!! I have seen that look in a few pairs of eyes myself. Sometimes they are looking at me from my own mirror.
In my happy little world, it’s already spring. February is winter, but at the tick of midnight on March 1 it became spring, and I don’t want to hear any dissenting opinions. (Of course I live in Kansas, where we had a 75F/23C couple of days and then a blizzard the next week, so I feel I can ignore reality all I want.)
Our Sat/Sun weather must have blown up north to you; I feel your pain on this. Ohio is only marginally more fun this time of year.
I’m loving the colourway on the Giotto socks.
“My country is not a country. It is winter.” That is SUCH a great line.
Here in SW Michigan, we haven’t had as much winter as you folks in Toronto.
But still. I’m done. Bring on spring…!
I made the mistake of piling snow where the crocuses should be, could be, might be… sometime. Maybe the snow will be over by the end of March, she said, with hope. In Michigan.
I seem to be the only person around enjoying the weather in Toronto! The beauty in the blankets of snow, blue skies and pristine air trumps the cold to me (and I’m a pedestrian) – PLUS! Cold weather = wearing more handknits for physical and unbeatable pyschological warmth!
Ugh – upper ND checking in – yep, still winter here, too. I also wrote about it today, as that does seem like a good way to fight the despair…until I thought too much about spring and how much I miss it, and especially spring in our old house. Sigh.
Spring is coming, spring is coming, pay no attention to the Canadian doom monger, spring is coming, spring is coming….. please, please spring is coming, spring is coming.
We had snow on Saturday and Sunday as well. It’s gone today though. I love both socks, bu the Giotto could not be passed up and I had to buy the pattern. I need some pretty socks for a change.
We have had the same rain/snow experience in the last two days as well. Hard!!! I had a baby lamb two weeks ago and that felt like spring but the other sheep is not producing yet and the ice and snow are increasing and it suddenly feels like spring is a long way off. Be kind to those who are at the end of their rope and keep knitting! ( I have been spinning amazing amounts of wool in the last two weeks to stay sane!)
In my 30 years in Fairbanks, I’ve developed a new concept of spring. Spring is when the sky is deep blue for days on end, and the sun is up for hours and hours, shining on the March snow, and giving the very best cross country skiing of the year. My house is warmed by that ambient light, and I don’t have to light the woodstove until dark, which comes later and later as we speed toward and past the Equinox, gaining light at 7 minutes a day. Spring! May March go on forever!
Gorgeous photos!! I got to spin out a couple of times on icy roads because our weather decided to rain and then freeze.
I’ve pretty well had it with winter too–this morning I skidded twice on the nearly invisible ice on the sidewalk, and both times came close to falling as I was being hauled along by the dog. I wish it were spring, but I know it’s not. I’m knitting Her Majesty a dog coat, because the other day her teeth were actually chattering.
Beautiful socks (the pink ones). Perfect thing to knit. And the chartreuse ones? EXCELLENT for March! I think I need to set aside the black and multicolored socks I have OTN and dig for some really bright yarn. March requires bright. (It is still the depth of winter here in Wisconsin, too.)
Definitely still winter. We’ve had a lot of melt, but we still have the sky trying to dump snow on us today as it has gotten colder and colder.
Oh No!! I just cast on a spring beret in (gasp!) GREY!! It happens to be the same colour as my scarf. Damn, where’s Denny when you need her? 😉
Minnesota…snowiest winter in the last 20 years…on track for a record if March lives up to its typical nastiness. SO…I’m knitting a white cardigan out of Solstice (cotton/wool blend)and pretending it is spring. I’m with Jen, denial is a strong emotion and after dark, you can’t see the snow!
whenever I get a little cross with my misguided ancestors who moved down here from wonderful Canada ( I know! what were they thinking?) or with my grandfather who failed to move back to Alberta when all his brothers did (!), then something like this makes me stop a moment. right now I have snowdrops blooming in my yard and daffodil buds are showing. the grass is looking a little bit green and we have spinach in the cold frame. come on down.
Snow day. The news says two feet, 24 inches , fell in Cazenovia,NY. It’s way more than that. Can’t take much more. I did notice that the birds are singing! No one can take away hope.
Beautiful pictures. Beautiful sock, both pairs and the green ones do look like spring.
Here in the deep south we woke to rain yesterday morning and yes cold by last night. And after a few days of glorius ‘false spring.’
Cheers.
Where I live in OZ it has never snowed – never, not once. It does however get to 45 degrees Celsius in Summer which I can tell you just sucks the life right out of you. I would love a bit of snow in my life every now and again. Last night it didn’t drop below 22 Celsius all night. I would love a few nights in a row where I actually needed a sheet – or better still a night that was cold enough to need a blanket!
PS. It does snow in parts of Australia, but those bits are at least a day’s drive away.
Color. And lots of it. It’s the only way to get through March. Thank goodness for yarn.
Here in northern Illinois, my snow drops are coming up. I counted 3 buds. But it’s grey and there’s still a touch of snow on the ground. And I’m working on a pair of socks that I thought would be a sort of lime green/yellow mix, but are actually a very pretty grassy green with a bit of yellow. Perfect for giving hope this time of year. Still wool, though.
Saturday it started raining hard on our snow-filled VT yards and hillsides. I watched snow melt away like rivers and hooked the discharge hose up to the sump pump outlet.
Today it’s two feet of blowing snow later and I couldn’t find that hose if I tried. I don’t mind snow in Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, or Feb. But it’s MARCH.
My college room-mate near Youngstown, OH, has her crocus and daffodils peeping out. WAAAAAAAAH.
The only snow we have anymore is very very dirty. We had 4 inches of rain and some major flooding last night. I think I almost would have preferred snow.
the pink and white socks are awesome and I have decided that I desparately need a pair to remind me that spring is around the corner.
April is the cruelest month for me. I had a neighbor who used to say that if she were to commit suicide it would be in April. I would say “do it in March so that you can skip April”. We Mainers feel your pain.
Come July, I’ll be cursing my location but for now let me just say that we had a “cold front” move in this weekend and it was about 60 degrees Farenheit here (about 15 Celcius). I biked to the park all last week with my two year old wearing shorts and sandals. Summers around here suck pretty hard, but March is one of our better months. It’s always hard for me to remember that there are folks still shoveling snow this time of year.
Love the colourful socks, especially the green ones – very appropriate for the month of St.Patrick’s Day.
Interesting how Toronto and Southern Ontario is actually further south in latitude than a lot of American states, yet many think that we “must be frozen” because we are in Canada. I checked this and I learned that Portland Oregon is just over 45 degrees N. and Toronto is 43.2 degrees N. – so much for being north in latitude.
This is the roller coaster weather that is March – at least the hours of daylight are increasing and the darkness is growing shorter – I can handle the snow if there is less darkness.
Yes, winter in March is a reality here is western New York too. That doesn’t stop us from yearning for spring.
I started a summer sweater and that gives me hope!
I’m very realistic about winter. Everyone else is moaning and groaning about how sick of snow they are. As if the freezing rain and sleet then snow was any better today better not to expect much yet that way you aren’t disappointed.
call me crazy, but I would love to live someplace that has a real winter. what was on your loom? no pictures of the weaving?
Living down here in NH and I’m so lost in the denial that it’s not really spring yet. Snow is as deep as a donkey’s shoulder around here. We had two days of warm melty weather to deceive us, to get me excited, to have me fantasizing about my gardens, and outdoor dinners and riding on the trails, washing fleeces and letting them dry in the sun, and now….. now the wind is slamming in from you our lovely northern neighbors and the newly glazed snow is freezing into completely unsurpassable ice cubes which do not make my barn animals happy. ~sigh~ Spring, does it really ever happen before June? I’m starting to despair. Time to go break the ice out of the buckets.
Now, I know that the East Coast of the U.S. is nothing compared to a Canadian winter, but as things go around here, it’s pretty effing cold. And it snows into April. And tomorrow is my birthday and there is still snow on the ground. I finally got over my delusion that I was born in the spring, and accepted the fact that I was born in the winter. I’ve been happier for it 🙂 Just think if it as extra time to enjoy the cozy hand knits…that seems to work for me.
I just put my pj’s in the dryer to warm them up.
I love the idea of two different size socks. I’m fairly new to sock knitting, but will definitley make my daughter a pair as her feet don’t match.
thanks, I needed that!
Today’s storm had been declared the 5th biggest snowfall in 24 hours for Vermont several hours ago (and it’s still coming down out there, we haven’t hit the 24 hour mark yet)
Chin up indeed….. Thanks for the reminder. Your sock looks a lot like Easter and Easter is spring… Well sort of.
Yeah, March sucks. Here in New England I’m thrilled to see mud. I haven’t seen the ground since early December, I think.
Nice socks (both pairs).
Amen for bright green socks to Spring into March! Because I’ve had enough of this winter thing too…
Particularly painful was the snow/rain as I missed EVERY BUS on the way home. Amazing great day spent indoors weaving, knitting and spinning on Sunday though.
The magic of acceptance is found in hibernation.
I so know what you mean about winter. After rain all day Saturday I woke up to 10 cm on my deck in the morning and then we got another 12 cm or so. My mother lives over toward the NY border with VT. Her place got 60 cm and the towns north of her had another 12 cm (72 cm? total). Sigh. Lovely March sock. Is spring tickle more a green or a yellow or inbetween?
Thanks, Stephanie, I needed that. And ain’t it true. (I live in Calgary.) The photos are beautiful, the socks seem to be that exact new-spring-leaves shade of green (which is my favourite colour)and I quite like the pink and white stripes.
Chin up to you, too (though you seem to be doing just fine).
That’s not snow! It’s March! It can’t be snow! Obviously, it’s just really cold, white rain! That’s all it is, cold white rain! Obviously!
*eye twitch*
When exactly does the sun come out?
If I’m remembering correctly you went somewhere in the southern US last March and people warned you that it was too hot for wool sweaters. It may be spring there but it’s still snowing in western PA. We have a saying that there will be three snows on the daffodils before it’s really spring.
March, for us, is the beginning of autumn. The apples are ripe and the leaves are looking a little frazzled.
I don’t think I could bear the snow and long winters you guys have. It would be like waiting for Aslan!
I’m in Minnesota…definitely a country of winter, definitely going crazy like your friend! At least we’re not sweating under wool knitting…
My birthday is a day or two into spring. And for the past fifty years, it has ALWAYS snowed after my birthday. I love the spring sock. I cast on a spring dishcloth in bright cheery colours (because the sweater I am supposed to be finishing is grey – all grey.
It’s March in Missouri, too. Gray and raining and freezing one day – sunny and warm the next – all to keep us on our toes as we wait for the stupid-ass spring tornados to start. March sucks, but the pink and white socks are cute – and the March socks were a good choice.
Know what’s even more demoralizing than April snow? Yeah… that would be May snow. Or even June snow. Yes… I said it. Freakin’ snow in June… past 2 years. It’s -24c at the moment and the weather people keep saying it’s gonna get warmer in a couple of days. But after a couple of days it becomes clear the weather people are big fat liars. Or broadcasting to us from some warmer climate like Edmonton… or TO from the safety of the witness protection program. Squirrley is a good word for what I’m feeling…. will this winter never end???????
*ahem* The pink stripey socks make me happy. And green is a good choice. I wish I could be assured of a real sign of spring but alas, I am a Winterpegger and must await April.
PS… thanks for the smile your blog always gives me 🙂
Come move to Vancouver!! Sunny all day long….
I will not say anything about how warm it might or might not be in Southern California.(You don’t know. It’s freaky weather sometimes and it might be cold here. Though we all know it’d have to be Apocolyptic to be colder than you. But I wasn’t going to go there.)
Gilles’s quote is so much more profound in French. Translated, it’s another way of expressing late winter cabin fever. I wish I’d learned enough French to be able to describe all the unpleasantries of life in that language. It might even change my outlook. Better than muttering and stomping, anyway.
I miss the snow. I lived in snow for about 17 years. I had snow shovels cut down for my shortness, always carried clorox and kitty litter in the back of my VW bug. I loved it. I miss it. I know I’m older now so probably couldn’t handle it the way I did… Your pictures are beautiful. Socks are gorgeous too.
There is definitely something about the color of Spring Tickle that is an absolute Denial-of-Winter. Happy Spring!
Show us some weaving!
Love the colorway of your March socks. I agree that there’s plenty of gray in March..you don’t have to knit with gray yarn too.
It’s still very much winter here in Calgary as well. My solution on a sunny, but freezing cold Sunday afternoon? I nudged the thermostat up a few degrees, put on my favourite summer dress, gave myself a pedi & painted the toes hot pink, poured myself a fruity beverage and basked in the sunshine pouring in the south-facing window with a knitting magazine, with some excellent summer-y tunes in the background. & I didn’t have to wash sand out of places unmentionable. 😉 Yup – this winter has officially driven me right round the proverbial bend !
Believe it or not, snow starts to look good when you bail 100+ gallons of water out of your basement. (Well, really, my hubby did it). At least snow stays where it falls.
After a fast 5 inches of rain, our previously inland property is now waterfront!
Regardless of the form of precipitation, the light is different now, and that’s terrific!
The green socks-in-progress are gorgeous!
Gosh, how enthusiastic I am!
I live in Montana, always have, I’ve been snowed on in every month of the year here. Although not a consecutive twelve. I once made a snowball on July the fourth, just to say I did. I’m going to go find out who that Gilles guy is now, I have a feeling I’m going to like him!
We get spring a good while before you do, but still a good while from now. To convince you of the promise of March and the value of hope, however, I have one word for you.
Equinox.
One day when the whole world is equal, Canadians and Floridians experiencing the same day and the same night. And after that, for a whole six months, you get more light than anyone in the lower 48.
“Winter is coming.”
Oh, fickle March! Even after all of these years we’ve shared, you still manage to fake me out. You offer up sunny, balmy days, where most of us manage to shed our winter wear. Then, while we are punch drunk on sunshine, you yank it away from us, laughing at our chattering teeth and sullen demeanor. Oh, March, be thou mercurial and capricious, know this…April is coming… and it’s gonna kick your butt.
How did you rig the system?
I live in Vancouver. I walked home in a t-shirt today. My front yard looks like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfobrien/4451518569/
I wish I could say that I know how it feels, but I’ve never seen a real winter, so I don’t.
I will stop complaining now about how I really, out of all twelve months, dislike the month of March because it’s still raining here in Oregon. You guys definitely have it worse. My sympathies 😉
Okay, you started this post with “Jen and I were weaving the other night…” So you know I gotta ask, weaving what? Weaving in ends? Weaving cloth? You can’t tempt a weaver with a beginning like that and then not come through with the goods? ;>
Also, here in much warmer climes, we are also getting a bit Spring crazy around here.
Here in Wisconsin, we are even more in the going crazy section of winter because it makes sense for the last snow of the year to be in March here, but every single rainstorm turns into snow. OH plus also we had this false spring in mid-February, culminating in beautiful weather for protesting (50-plus degrees F) on a Saturday and then the next day SNOW. Why do you think people continued to occupy the capitol? Nobody likes outside when it’s below-zero F.
I too have been wearing greens and pinks and blues rather than the practical grays and keep-warm oranges of winter because I want the sun and the flowers plzkthx.
P.S. I will join Syne in asking, weaving what??
I like your way of thinking, living in reality might help me a bit. I’m not from a snowy climate originally (Los Angeles, CA) and to have it snow, melt off, and then snow again, well it’s a bit soul crushing. I have to remember that up north February no longer means warm spring days with 70 degree weather, but days where we’re lucky for it to get up to the mid 30s.
I love those pink and white socks and am sure they are just the thing for a sick girl.
That wonderful green is the perfect example of self-medication with yarn. It just shouts “Yarn Harlot Colour!”
The needles? ???
Rams – you don’t want to cross the border now? Aw, why????
Oh, it’s definitely almost spring! You know, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the snow is melting (there’s only 3,5 metres left)…It’s springtime in Finland =) La la laa…
My mum feels the same about summer at the moment. We’ve had about 3 days break from the heat after 27 days above 30 degrees Celcius and we’ve got at least until easter before Autumn sets in and we see any sign of it cooling off.
Please RAMS… Or Stephanie… How DO you knit in ends?
I thought of your previous post from WA about getting to the airport, when I got the call from the school yesterday CANCELING SCHOOL due to RAIN —here in Northern Maine. I’m not a native to 4 seasons…to all those who complain, there is an apartment in LA-CA for you.
First – Hey, I surprised myself by being able to understand the French – and my high school French is loooooong behind me.
Second – How sweet that you’ve knit these socks for someone who would clearly have a problem with store-boughten ones.
This is all I’ll say: 4-foot snowdrift in front of my door yesterday.
Je connais bien le pays de l’hiver.
You clearly understand the psyche behind the winter blues.
Your beautiful photos of Canada make my heart ache. I return for a visit tomorrow and I hope there is still snow.
I so understand the need to believe that winter is almost over, even when I know it’s not true. And just to crush my own delusions, this particular winter dump covered up the squill that was just starting to surface in my back yard. Sigh.
mon jardin, ce n’est pas un jardin, c’est la neige….
boy – did he ever get that one right….
so sorry to hear your winter lamentations – here in lovely southern utah, we have crocus and daffodils up, and there is a distinct green haze on some of the willows! nanny nanny boo boo – who cares that it gets up to 100F for weeks in a row in the summer? it’s spring now!
I happen to be of Jen’s ilk. I’ve decided it’s spring so I refuse to wear a coat. I’m wearing my handspun hoodie which, though warm, still leaves me shivering. But I believe it’s in a good cause. No use to let the weather push us around!
Two inches of white “rain” here overnight and two more inches expected by nightfall. Absolutely spring is on the way?+
Two words… Seed Catalogs.
Look at all those lovely vegetables and flowers! How can spring not be minutes away when there is all that lush, productive, produce and lovely, colorful flowers just a page turn away!!
They start coming in Jan. and I spend the rest of the winter planning what I’m going to put in and where… dreaming about a new flower bed in the back of the yard with an 8 foot fence section painted by my artist-niece, with a weeping cherry tree and hydrangeas and lilacs.
I get lilac wax thingies and melt them in my candle pot so the house smells like lilacs (ok, like fake lilacs, but I can pretend)…
Of course I don’t have enough money to order all the flowers, plants, and especially not the fence… but when I do, I know exactly what the layout is going to be for that back corner 🙂 And I do order tomatoes, peppers, melons, pumpkins, cucumbers and herbs for the vegetable garden. If I’m planning the garden, it’s just not possible that spring is 3 months away (yes, 3, we still get frost into June, here).
OK, you have made me feel bad about bitching that it was only in the upper 60s here in Austin, Tx for the kite festival this weekend, and that there wasn’t enough wind to fly a kite properly. My wishes for a quick thaw for you.
I think we’re done with snow in Chicago. At least I hope so. Crutches don’t travel well in snow. But I’m already working on springy projects too!
Love the photos. Love the socks. I need to get out my copy of Knitting Rules and figure out how to gauge to knit a pair in worsted.
I enjoyed reading one of the earlier posts (by Shivaun Garber) about the potholes here in Northern Indiana. So true. Here, the up/down of weather is a perfect breeding ground for them.
Those of us who live here never need visit the Grand Canyon. For the same experience, all we have to do is wait for March and look down the street.
I was wondering why I have been completely uninspired this week…
The winter here in the eastern mountains of BC has an incredibly strong hold on us. I am looking at 3 feet of snow in my yard right now! It feels as though spring will only sheepishly show it’s face.
Thank you for the “no grey knit in March” tip.
That might help this March madness from going any further…
So now you’re saying Denny won’t allow you to work on the gansey in March?
Nice try.
I like Denny’s rule. I’m in Vermont and have just picked up a UFO of some bright colorful mosaic socks to cheer me. My mom spotted some red-winged blackbirds near her house in NY and says it’s a sign of spring coming soon.
Oops. I just started a pair of grey socks. In baby alpaca. They are cozy and my new house is cold and I’m going to keep knitting them even though it is March and still cold and it snowed yesterday. I’ll think of it as a preventive measure, like carrying your umbrella so it won’t rain. Knitting grey socks in March = early Spring. (Lalalalalalala…)
I love the socks. Fraternal twins are always an interesting conversation starter
I also love March snows, pregnant with the anticipation of spring, heavy on the branches and fences, yet disappearing quickly. There is something about a March snow that is so intersting.
Thank you for putting that song in my head. Even here on the westcoast it is still winter, and that connects me somehow with the rest of the country.
Cheers, spring will come.
Weaving? I must have missed that one — you have a loom???????
I’m just thrilled, we had 2 days of rain and got rid of MOST of the ice on the walk ways. Those are the only places I can see ground, the rest is still snow, hard packed, icy snow, sprinkled with dirt and bird seed. Forget washing the car though — no sense since we’ll have more snow and rain later in the week.
Although I certainly agree with the sentiment behind that one line, Gilles’ ‘pays’ most definitely did not include Canada, which makes me less enthusiastic about his song as a good description of Canada. In fact, did you know that the original plan for the Vancouver 2010 opening ceremonies included that song – but Vigneault wouldn’t let them use it because they were portraying Canada as a nation with Quebec as one part of it? (vs Canada as a non-entity and Quebec as it’s own nation.)
Whoa, tangent. I agree, snow in March = heartbreaking. Come on, spring!
“…but it’s cool that it felt that way.” Love it!
I’m saving my spring green yarn for my April socks — I don’t want to get my hopes up. The northeast U.S. always gets blasted with at least one more snowstorm in March.
Kelly @ Creating a Family Home
I so know what you mean! I spent 35 years in Massachusetts and have scraped enough windshields and moved enough snow during those 35 years to put out the fires in hell. I moved south….I moved to a warmer place…. and… after living here without the need to even think about picking up a snow shovel for over 10 years the streak was broken by not ONE but TWO snow storms this winter! I had to borrow a snow shovel from another displaced person from the north who persists in the belief that we will get snow! We have had enough rain here to fill the ocean and still it rains. Either way it is grey!
Ok, Steph. Can you help a girl out a bit? I’m moving to Ontario (Hamilton, to be exact) in June and am finding your posts and DocSteph’s tweets a bit scary. Here in Kansas we had rain/snow/rain today, and not all the big piles of snow have melted, but we know spring is on its way. I’m spending my spring break in Hamilton in two weeks and am worried about how many sweaters to pack!!!
I want denial. PLEASE, give me denial. Tell me how wonderful it is, how much knitting I’ll get done, all the awesome fiber-y things there are to do in the GTA and environs.
No more snow . . . no more snow . . . no more snow. . .
The march socks are looking nice! I have started a cape to wear when spring finally decides to arrive. It has to be soon!
Uhm… you should really come to central Florida right about now. Isn’t there a speaking engagement in Orlando you really must keep? If it helps, the migratory birds have been passing through my yard on their way north. So, Spring is headed to you for sure, on the wings of the Robin and her friends.
It’s my mom’s birthday and, while I love my mom, I can’t help but think how lucky your daughters are to have you as their mom. Many thanks for all your insightful insights.
Living in the Pacific Northwest, I understand. For us it’s rain. I love rain, really I do. But endless days of it? Not so much.
I had a moment like that in the last two weeks when we were promised 1 to 2 inches of the white stuff followed by RAIN! LOTS of RAIN! And, silly girl that i am, i believe the weathermen.
sigh.
We got 16 inches of snow instead, and i nearly cried as i went out to clear off the drive and paths. I went out when we had 8 inches or so on the ground, and it was that cold, wet snow, the kind that mocks you in late February and says, “See, i COULD have been rain, but i chose to remain snow at the last minute.”
Ugh.
I knew i had to get to doing my driveway again. But, the snow was too chunky and heavy for the snowblower. I decided to fortify myself with supper before i went out for a three-hour dig. As i was donning my coat and bracing myself, a neighbour stopped by. He has a large truck and plough and ploughed the drive. In about five minutes. I cried and gave him $50.
Since then we had loads of rain. Being on the coast, we have better chance of rain than inland; we got 2 inches of rain, they got 2 feet of snow. Part of my path is grass. GRASS!!
The snow is now just under a metre high on most of the lawn. :0)
I like you white and pink socks. I was just diagnosed with breast cancer. I am two weeks out of surgery and still can’t knit 🙁 but, I picked up a crochet hook and will try to do that instead.) It is only stage one and we are waiting to see if I need chemo too. I just want you to know the socks made me feel happy because (the Jeopardy song is in my head and) I can bounce along the happy stripes of your socks to the beat in my head as I wait, and wait…. I am thinking hats are in my future but I don’t have stash above fingering weight! (uhoh)
I would be happy never to see the evil burning daystar again if it meant I didn’t have six straight months of temperatures above 32 C
or higher, with humidity sustained at 80% and higher, in a place where it “cools off” only a few degrees at night and the air never moves unless we are having a hurricane.
And I am saying that as an informed visitor of the great deep freeze in the depth of winter.
This week we are having “spring” here in South Louisiana – warm daytimes, pleasantly chilly night, moderate humidity. “Spring” will last till St. Patrick’s Day if we are lucky. Then it will start getting hot in the daytime, but still cool off at night, which I don’t mind. Then, sometime in late April, it will stop cooling off much at night, it will hit 32 c / 90 F in the daytime and stay there till October.
I always have a pat answer for sidewalk preachers thumping their BIbles and screeching about the burning lakes of fire in hell. I just shout back: “I’M FROM LOUISIANA. YOU CAN’T SCARE ME WITH HEAT!”
P.S. — I just remembered something my Grandma used to say: “no one is ever happy with the hair or the weather God gave them.”
Oops. Meant to ay it would hit 32 C or 90 F, stay there, and KEEP GETTING hotter.
Sorry for three posts.
Lovely post. I need to find that song. It fits here too.
Funny how everything is relative in life. I was in Toronto this week and although the weather wasn’t the best, I was really glad not to be in Montreal! And how about Japan? Poor people… it makes me really sad reading the news… On a brighter side, great idea to knit socks to battle the winter blues! I love the reversed stripes of the Spud&Chloe socks! They rock!
But those snow photos are like showing me pictures of sand when I’m dying of thirst on the dessert. As I read your post with my Seasonal Affective Disorder brain, I read, “This is what I was thinking when I got up Sunday morning and there was a fresh dump of big snow.” But what I process was, “This is what I was thinking when I got up Sunday morning and took a fresh dump on the big snow.” I know! YUCK, but that’s were I’m at. I think Jen and I have a bit in common. There is a slightly hysterical maniacal feeling just under my skin. Spring. Spring – where are you?
I have purple and yellow crocus blossoms smiling in my yard. And a freak snowstorm this afternoon. Not a dumped on storm like you got, but so freaking weird for where I live this time of year. I’m ready for daffodils and tulips thankyouverymuch.