A Little Taste of Spring (Even If It’s Still February)

This week gave us a gentle reminder that warmer days are on the way.

After the rain soaked everything good and deep, the sun came back out just long enough to dry the paths, warm the garden beds, and call us all outside. And honestly? We answered.

There’s something about that first stretch of mild weather that makes you want to throw open the doors, shake out the rugs, and live outside from breakfast until dinner.

Slow Mornings in the Garden

The soil is still cool, but workable. Not quite planting-all-the-things season — just soft tending season.

I walked the beds with coffee in hand, checking on what’s sprouting, what needs thinning, and where the rain compacted things a bit too much. A little fluffing here, a little weeding there. Nothing major. Just reconnecting.

The kids brought their school baskets outside and claimed the patio table as our classroom. Math worksheets in one corner, sketchbooks in another. We practiced spelling words while watching bees work the early blooms.

Outdoor school days are lighter somehow. More movement. More curiosity. Fewer sighs.

Chickens After the Rain

If you keep chickens, you know the post-rain situation.

Mud.
Everywhere.

The coop needed a refresh after the storm — damp bedding swapped out, nesting boxes fluffed up, and a good rake-through in the run. I sprinkled fresh pine shavings and turned the top layer of soil where things were getting compacted.

They were thrilled, of course. Nothing excites chickens quite like you undoing all your hard work five minutes later.

We checked waterers for debris, wiped down the feeder, and let everything air out in the sunshine. A dry coop after rain makes such a difference — for smell, for health, for eggs.

It felt good to reset their space while everything else is waking up too.

Mild Gardening Mode

This is my favorite in-between season.

Not the frenzy of summer.
Not the deep rest of winter.
Just gentle progress.

A few seeds started indoors are stretching toward the light. The outdoor beds are prepped but not rushed. I’m letting the weather lead instead of pushing ahead.

The kids helped tuck a few early flowers into pots near the porch — something cheerful to greet us in the mornings. Nothing fancy. Just enough to say: we’re getting there.

Playing Outside (Without Bundles of Layers)

By mid-afternoon, jackets were tossed aside. The dogs stretched out in the sun. The kids built an obstacle course that somehow incorporated garden stakes and a wheelbarrow.

We lingered.

Dinner was simple. Windows open. Air moving through the house for the first time in weeks.

These are the days that refill you.

There’s still plenty of winter left, I’m sure. But this little stretch of warmth felt like permission — to step outside, to tidy up what the rain left behind, to let learning happen under the sky, and to ease back into growing season.

If you needed a reminder: you don’t have to do it all at once.

Just open the door.
Step outside.
Start small.

Spring is coming. 🌿