Dreary Time of Year

If I could get rid of one month of the year, I believe for me it would be February. Sorry to those who celebrate wedding anniversaries or birthdays this month but I just have never liked February. For me, it seems a lot longer than the normal twenty-eight days because the days always seem dark and grey. Even here in Oklahoma, it is usually colder than December with more snow and usually an ice storm thrown in. As a teacher, it is the one month that we usually don't get a break because we're making up snow days lost in December or January. That makes for long school days with cranky teenagers! Not fun for anyone!

I seem to suffer from that seasonal disorder from lack of sun. It used to not bother me as much as it does now but I get down in the dumps in February. Maybe it has to do with the fudge I ate in January! I just wish I could jump from the new beginning of January to the longer and warmer days of March!

Since we're almost half way through February, I guess I'll make it again this year. I started pumping vitamin D and exercising more, outside if it's sunny. I'm also starting seeds for spring, that makes me feel like spring is just around the corner.

Another project I always save for February is bulb forcing. I buy bulbs after they are marked down in the fall and store them in the fridge over the winter. Bulbs need a cool time so they will bloom again each year. That is why extreme southern states do not have daffodils or tulips. In order to get them to bloom down there, you have to dig them each year and store them in the fridge every winter and who has time for that!

I am forcing paper white narcissis this year. I set them in a shallow glass bowl filled with pretty stones. I put little twigs around the edge so they won't fall over. I check it everyday for water and growth. It's so exciting to see those little bulbs come to life and fill my home with blooms!

Maybe March isn't so far off!