little signs of spring

After that first sprig of spring there have sadly not been many signs of spring to (soon, pretty please) come. This Swedish winter has been hard, for everyone, the winter of 2009/10 was pretty horrific, the one of 2010/11 has been worse.

The first snow in the Stockholm area fell on October 22nd. Ever since then it has been more or less snow on the ground, with emphasize on more, much more. Causing huge problems in the public transportation system, general traffic issues, the flawed snow clearance all winter has left a lot to be desired, there have been an increase in all sorts of fractures - the icy streets have been just awful, during this winter many of us have adopted a strange shuffle-waddling way of walking, hopefully it's only weather related and not something that'll come along for spring - the electrical bills have skyrocketed (as if last year wasn't enough) and many wild animals have perished due to the cold and a lack of food.

I think we all, at least us living in the more middle/southern parts of Sweden, not being THIS used to long, harsh, snowed in winters, have been dampened and dispirited by these nearly five months now (and probably one more to go before we can finally say goodbye to winter for real). So every little, tiny sign of spring on its way means the world. Every ray of sun has to be enjoyed, every leeward spot  showing at least one sunstarved person with its face turned upwards, catching some natural C.

Me, I have been most happy about finding snowdrops, beside them some small tulip-buds making their way up in flowerbeds.

And yes, rhubarb, glorious rhubarb already. It'll take ages until they're ready to be picked, but still, with spring comes summer and rhubarb dishes galore.

The ice on lakes are definitely crackling. And yes, hopefully soon, one can again be able to actually take a loaf dog walk in the nearby woods without the fear of falling on the ice-covered paths. Ah, before one knows it, there will be wood anemones everywhere. There will be spring.