Goodbye January!

Here is my running partner (I'm not sure who that old woman is) -

And my other running partner -

It was a beautiful day in the valley! And my daughter and I (and our dog) thoroughly enjoyed it but it was cold! But regardless how cold it is, tomorrow we will be able to say that 'next month is spring'! We put up the shelter for the horses that partially blew over in a strange windstorm last week. Dolly llama was helping us - by sticking her nose in my pocket as I was trying to hold the posts for my husband.

So goodbye to January . . . to the frigid, middle of winter, cruel weather, to the sneaky masquerading as April which almost had us fooled, to the post-Christmas letdown as we headed back to work and to school.

Hello to February: a glimpse into spring; being within waving distance of the start of the warm months, to new life sprouting; to the seasons of eating from nature; re-watching Groundhog Dog; celebrating my dad's and brother's birthdays; not-so-much Valentine's Day but a day that is all about chocolate can't be all bad.

Hello to February and not having to chip 3 inches of ice from the water troughs, to not having to wear two pairs of gloves to keep my hands from freezing. Hello to dark mornings and being up before the chickens (and loving every minute of it) and to bright evenings - I'm so done with driving home from work in the dark.

But I know that I will miss January. It is the month that seems at least half a year long while in it but in hindsight only lasted an instance. January is the month during which I don't feel too terribly guilty snuggling on the couch with a blanket, a good book, and a dog.

Good books, cozy blankets, warm dogs . . . everything that is good about January. I'll miss you, January. See you next year!