February 2
The last week or so has been very warm a false spring. I've even been able to sit outside for sunset a couple of times, between rainy days, sipping hot tea. Everything is coming to life. The sheer abundance of life and activity is awesome. A huge black bumblebee with blue wings has been sunning himself on the stones. And today, in daylight, there was a brown bat fluttering around the garden. I think he woke up accidentally and had trouble finding his little sleeping niche. He kept circling, landing on the wall, crawling around, blindly searching, then taking off and repeating the procedure. He finally found a little rock crevice to curl back into.
The bulbs are coming up and the lilacs are budding. Unfortunately for all of us, there will probably be a big snow or a heavy frost before March... just another one of nature's little jokes. I'm told that the local rule is not to begin planting until the old oak leaves have fallen off the trees. The Italian version of Punxatawny Phil.
I've ventured into the garden to rake and clean things up a bit. The few days of light rain has made the clay soil very sticky. It gloms onto my garden clogs and becomes a work out tool. After an hour or so raking and fixing, I'm carrying 5 lbs of mud on my feet.
2002
