Much of the northern United States, and even my home state of Oklahoma, are in the deep freeze! This feels like Limbo Land. We all thought spring was surely here – and I ALMOST put the plants I’ve been overwintering  back outside a week ago. If I had, they would be frozen by now, as overnight temps have dipped into the twenties for several nights in a row.

When will it end?

Obviously the Groundhog doesn’t know, and neither does the National Weather Service. All anyone can say for certain is that it WILL be Spring before long. My daffodils are still in bloom, the japonica and forsythia bushes are beautifying yards in my neighborhood, and the birds are singing.

The 2013 Farmer’s Almanac, written last year and based on annual temperature and weather averages over many decades and current weather trends, doesn’t give any clues about Spring’s arrival date. All we know for certain is that the longer days bring warmer temperatures, and with warmer air circulating around the planet, more spring storms are likely.

Those longer days will also bring leaf buds onto the branches of the deciduous trees (those which drop their leaves in winter), and soon, the leaves will unfurl and a tree will once again be recognizable as a living tree.

As I wait for my oak, elm, ash and walnut trees to once again become green jewels in my yard, I find myself considering how important trees are to me, how they influence my mood, and transport me to other places.

Here is what Anne LaBastille had to say about trees in Woodswoman:

“I feel this communion, this strange attunement, most readily with large white pines, a little less with big spruces, sugar maples, beeches, or oaks. Clearly white pines aned I are on the same wavelength. What I give back to the trees I cannot imagine. I hope they receive something, because trees are among my closest friends.”

And so it must be true with me. They are among my closest friends, those tall, silent witnesses to my life. I can hear their voices sometimes at night when the wind is blowing, but they never tell my secrets.