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when i looked out the window this morning at a world covered in white, i exclaimed, "that is total crap!" but i couldn't hold onto that feeling when i stepped outside to do animal chores. the landscape is transformed, clean, beautiful, softer somehow. the air was still, sounds dampened, it was magical.

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the chickens run around, lifting their feet as if they're trying out monty python's silly walks.

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this little hen is taking a break from sitting on her nest of 16 eggs to bathe in the fresh, clean snow and survey the world.

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she's queen of the little rabbit houses husband built so there could eventually be a little rabbit street (oddly, we've never put them into use).

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lurking below the fluffy, white surfaces, fat buds, waiting to burst forth.

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despite the snow, spring is in the air and the air is full of freshness and that pre-coital bird chatter that happens only in the spring.

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even frankie frolicked and attacked falling bits of snow here and there, enjoying himself before coming in to warm his feet and have a morning nap.

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the fruit bushes and the garden may be covered with snow right now, but it's fleeting and it won't be long before the bushes burst forth with leaves and blossoms and we begin to work in the garden. the green hope hangs in the very air, still, breathless, waiting quietly beneath the snow, secure that its moment is coming.

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the bees are still tucked in, but their work will begin soon as well.

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it may be winter's last gasp, but spring is definitely in the air.
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