The ranunculus had been pushing up through the last vestiges of snow and ice for about two weeks now, and as these early spring days warmed I was thrilled to see their purple and pink buds starting to swell. They were some of the first flowers of spring, if you didn’t count the tulip bulbs that were still sitting in my laundry room unplanted, and I was ready for them.
Winter had been long here in Octonia, with more snow than usual and a lot of rain. Snow was fun for both Sawyer, my almost four-year-old son, and me for about fifteen minutes, and then we were both over it. We did differ, however, in our affection for mud – he was a huge fan, and I didn’t love using my mop that much.
But it wasn’t just the fact that I could comfortably hose my child off now that the temperatures were beginn
