Evergreen of Celeste

Last night, we had a thunderstorm! This is unusual for January. It rained torrentially while the lightning flashed. Around midnight, it stopped for awhile, and then the rain returned, but without the dramatics this time. At some point in the wee hours, the sky cleared, and the waning moon, high up but still brilliant, poured out its light through the window panes and across the floor. I know about all these things because I kept waking up, sigh. I had another one of my typical dreams about battling dark forces who have sharp pointy things. There were too many people in the area, and I was concerned that I would not be able to protect them all. I wished they would do the sane thing and RUN AWAY, but they never seem to think of this. Not much fun.

This morning, the snow was all gone, and the bare ground was visible. That is also unusual in January. In my youth, we always had a January thaw, which I associated with my birthday, and then it would get cold again. Since we moved back to Michigan, the weather has been erratic and most years, the thaw has not arrived. Let's hope its current return is a good omen. I went out with the Sparrowhawk's rubber boots and a shovel to see if the ground was frozen. It was not, so I planted the 15-20 daffodil bulbs I had stashed in the garage. I ordered them in the fall, but they lost my order, and when the bulbs were finally shipped, they came on the very day before the first big snow. I was hoping for a thaw in which I could plant them, and now it is done. It's quite possible the squirrels will dig them up and eat them, but at least I've done what I can. Also, my recently washed jacket and pants are covered in mud, so I'll have to wash them again.