Since our snow is basically gone now except for a few stray patches, I am ready to move on to the next season. The dogs aren’t quite as happy as we are about the changing weather. They miss their snow! Therefore, the iceberg that is still on the pool cover draws their attention. Here is Alex chilling out.

The other day I looked out to see all three of them laying on the icy pool cover. Of course by the time I got the camera out they had moved on to other things.

We finally got the last of our Christmas decorations down over the weekend. I can hardly believe this was pretty much our first chance since the day after Christmas. Last weekend the snow was gone but it was raining. But, it’s done now and good riddance! No more red-bowed wreaths over the windows. No more net lights on the dwarf Alberta spruces. No more outdoor extension cords. All gone and packed away.

The flooding has crested here now. Our closest mall, Willowbrook Mall, is under water and closed. Our TJ MAXX store that was flooded and closed for most of the year last year is now closed again. I don’t know if they will have to completely gut the store like they did last year or not. I was just thinking about going there when I was down that direction last week and then decided not to. I guess I should have since I haven’t been in it since they reopened! We are expecting nearly another inch of rain on Wednesday. I don’t know that will impact the current situation but it certainly won’t help it any.

Our weather has been cloudy and dreary, seemingly so for the past several months. Our temperatures have at least risen to the 40’s (and if we’re lucky we’ll hit 50), but it’s a chilly and damp 40—not a warm one. We managed to grill steaks outside last night but it wasn’t really grilling weather.

The trees have not budged since releasing their catkin pods. All it would take is a little warmth and I think they’d start popping. Goodness knows, they’ve certainly had enough water!

I am so ready to move on! Ready to put my fig tree back outside. Ready to retire Johnny to the back yard and get him out of the garage. Ready to take drives in Mia. Ready to go to the farmer’s market in Warwick on Sundays. Ready. Ready. Ready!

puddle reflection in my driveway

Flooding is plaguing us here in New Jersey. That’s how we know it’s the beginning of spring! Where our house is located we live pretty much at the top of the “water chain”  and we are not affected. In essence, we are the problem since everything is downhill from here. The rivers and streams were already swollen from our over 2 inches of rain that fell on last Sunday, but add to that the 3.56 inches of rain (measured at our house) that we had yesterday and overnight and you’ve got more trouble. The ground is about as saturated as it can get, and now several rivers in Wayne (where Rick works) are over their banks. Roads and schools closed, people evacuated. It’s a mess, but it’s not all that unusual. It happened last year around this time too. Remember my post on the falls in Paterson last year? It’s bound to be spectacular again but I don’t know if I will go or not.

Last night the rain came down so hard after midnight that I found it hard to sleep. The deafening drumming noise on my roof kept me awake. My driveway (which slopes downhill) was basically a river this morning and a miniature stream had formed in my side yard. The little stream behind our house is running like crazy and sounds more like a river with rapids than the normally placid little stream. It’s kind of a nice sound, very soothing, if you don’t think about why it sounds like that. If it were just a little warmer I’d have my windows open so I could listen to it.

But look what all that rain finally revealed under the last bit of snow in the flower beds ... daffodil eruption!

Things may look a bit dodgy right now, but I think we’re finally on the road to spring.

How do you spend a rainy Sunday?

Try sticking your feet out (similar to putting your feet up) and taking a snooze like Sam.

Make a delicious Salad Lyonnaise for lunch. (Made with fresh croutons from bread baked on Saturday.)

Simmer a tomato sauce that will be used in your dinner.

Play Alan Wake on the Xbox 360 and finish it.

Enjoy a fireside (and much needed) massage. Sorry, no photo of that ...

Sit down to a dinner of braised lamb shanks with parmesan polenta, just right for a rainy day! Yum, yum, yum!

Mother Nature is a fickle sort. She’s been toying with us. Saturday was a pretty nice day for a change and I was able to get out and do a few things in the yard that needed to be done.

Yesterday and overnight we had 2.6 inches of snow-melting-get-rid-of-that-damned-old-snow rain. The weather was warm-ish yesterday, topping the chart at around 58 degrees F, but still we had a fire going to keep the dampness away. Sometimes it was just a gentle rain, but at others it was a downpour. The dogs did not want to go out. Every time they went to the door and I opened it, they just turned around and looked up at me as if to say I am NOT going out in that and turned around and walked away. This morning I awoke to a covering of snow and it was still lightly snowing at 29 degrees F. Just when we were looking at bare ground! Our new little white cover won’t last, but still, forward progress was temporarily thwarted.

March can never seem to make up its mind.

Fresh covering of snow on my deck this morning with morning shadows and dog prints. Yesterday was the first day it was completely clear of all snow and ice.

As we make the slow transition to spring here in northern New Jersey there isn’t much to photograph. The snow is melting and what is left is dirty and ugly. Not a pretty sight.

I walked down into our woods to see if the skunk cabbages were popping their funny heads up yet, and they are just starting.

Then I walked outside our fence and down to the little stream. It’s moving along pretty good right now with all the snow melt and the recent rain. It was still cold enough for some ice to accumulate on a few things. Kind of pretty!

I’m not quite sure just how these “swizzle sticks” form but I think they are cool.

Today it’s raining. Over one inch has fallen so far. I just realized that one year ago today was the day of our “snowicane” and here we are one year later having another large-ish storm, only this time it’s rain instead of snow.

Even stranger is the fact that in that blog entry I talk about just having made pork chile verde which I made this morning too without realizing I had made the same dish one year ago today. Very weird! You can’t plan things like that!

Looking out the window at the rain something looked off to me in the back yard. The trees were tinged with color! Wait. It can’t be. I ran for the binoculars and sure enough, one species of tree has popped! Lots of them! Little droopy catkins all over the place! I think they are beeches but I’m not sure.

What can they be thinking? We still have snow on the ground. Silly trees.

Hurrah for spring!