Take your sweet old time, January

The third week of January is sometimes called "Yuck Week," considered the most depressing week of the year. It's dark and cold, and here in the Pacific Northwest, so wet.

But the month rolls slowly on, and signs of spring appear, like bulbs pushing through soggy mulch.  We had intense rain squalls yesterday with short periods of blue sky, so I got outside for a short walk.  I had the neighborhood to myself, I suppose everyone was hunkered inside watching football. John started pruning the fig tree during one of the sunny spells, but got hit by a pretty good shower by the time he was done.

Despite the rain, this has been a mild winter.  Some annoying frost on the windshields, but not cold enough to kill the geraniums or this old jasmine in the stairwell. It looks like it might make it though one more winter.  Of course we could still get hit with a hard freeze, but with each day closer to February, that becomes more unlikely.

"The shortest day has passed, and whatever nastiness of weather we may look forward to in January and February, at least we notice that the days are getting longer.  Minute by minute they lengthen out.  It takes some weeks before we become aware of the change.  It is imperceptible even as the growth of a child, as you watch it day by day, until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise we realize that we can stay out of doors in a
twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour."
-  Vita Sackville-West