January 2017

We arrived in Longmont, Colorado on December 29, 2016. Our small home was freezing and it would be three and a half weeks before our belongings arrived. Our amazing friends had stocked the fridge and piled the pull-out couch with warm blankets and a cozy duvet, and we fell in love, once again, with the home we had seen and placed an offer on earlier that month.

Our front and back gardens were covered in snow and I could not wait to get my hands in the earth. One of the first things I learned about living in a place with four distinct seasons is that patience is a good characteristic to have and that every season has its own cycles and rituals. I live in a place called the Front Range, a haven of sorts nestled against the Western slopes of the nearby Rockies which somewhat protects this area from unpredictable weather such as hailstorms, winds which lift the roofs off homes, tornadoes and bitter killing frosts. Our growing season is said to only be 152 days long, so careful planning with lots of contingencies are necessary. It also seems a carefree attitude is important, a characteristic I admit I  do not possess.