and you knew it was too early to think these thoughts

but you could not help it, the smell of earth was in the air. The snow would melt, and there was no way to keep the mud out of the house. There they were in the south window, more seedlings than you thought you could keep alive. Some of them were getting a little leggy, reaching for more light...it hurt to look at them. There would be the days when you just knew spring would come early, and it did, for a day or two.
The time would change soon, and then it would be as if this painful waiting had never happened. That extra hour, it would mean everything
Before long The Garden would be planted, another summer of long days and beet greens, and roses and basil....