If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Throughout the winter I always keep in mind the above quote by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Knowing that spring is around the corner makes the reality of below zero temperatures more endurable. While the calendar officially proclaims the beginning of spring, I often find myself thinking when the snowflakes are still flying "If the flowers are covered with snow in May, is Mother Nature playing a joke on us?"

This was evident one year as large snowflakes began to fall in May, weighing down the newly emerged leaves on our oak trees and covering the flowers on my bleeding heart plant. While there was little we could do about the trees, we spent the morning trying to dust the snow off of the tender plants. I remember with a sinking feeling hearing the sound of splitting wood in the backyard as the large branches of our silver maple split off from the trunk.

And three hours later the sun melted the snow and branches littered our yard. As much as I hated to see the damage to our trees, owners of strawberry farms and apple orchards had bigger problems than I did. While we enjoy the beauty of blossoms on apple trees and strawberry plants, those tender blossoms hold the success or failure of that year's crops.

Here's hoping that Mother Nature doesn't pull a fast one on us again this year.