(More lemonade, this time with fresh mint. Late night bath time, with a little brother who thinks splashing is hilarious. After-dinner smoothies, a can of full fat coconut milk with frozen tropical fruit. Seedlings under the grow lights, peppers and tomatoes pictured.)

Even though it's only 45 degrees out there right now, make no mistake about it: spring is nudging its way in. If I squint hard I can see the buds on the neighbors' trees just beginning to show the faintest whisper of green, and I can hear the birds (thank goodness they go by the hours of daylight and NOT the temperature) chirping faintly through the window. Monday was in the mid-sixties. Alan cleaned the porch, the cousins came over and played in the yard, and I raked the leaves out of one of the raised bed in preparation for some of the early seeds. I uncovered the garlic that Indy and I planted in the fall, and when I crouched down to check on it (it has, indeed, sent up beautiful green shoots!), the uncovered soil was teaming with thousands of new worms. The sight made me gasp and nearly brought me to tears. All winter long, stuck inside, and feeling so lifeless. Even looking outside you see only monotone shades of brown and grey. Yet there in the soil, so small that you have to lean close enough to smell the sharp notes of rotting leaves, there is life! (If it wasn't lent I would have let out a hallelujah!) It is undeniably gracious and good.

I found chamomile as cut flowers at the grocery store the other day! A delightful first. And when those little bundles of dry packed daffodils start showing up you just know spring is coming. It's a harbinger of the harbinger.

Even though spring is still relentlessly teasing us, the equinox has already passed and the light creeps on far into the evening. It's not enough to trigger spring cleaning fever, but it makes enough of an impression on my psyche to stir me towards change. I'm a morning person but I hate the whole waking up part; factor in a baby who still has restless nights on and off and I find myself snoozing through my favorite part of the day. I told Alan that I really want to be able to get up at least a little bit before the kids by the time summer rolls 'round so that I can start my day with a little peace and a deep breath and a cup of coffee. So far, so good; we've been hitting the hay early and I'm getting up in time to enjoy the early light slanting through the windows

1. Sprouted flour banana bread, recipe here.

2. Lemonade - not just for the summer, at least not when you have a pint of fresh lemon juice that needs using up.

3. Banana "ice cream." Please tell me you've tried this, it is so good! Peel and freeze bananas, throw in the food processor with peanut butter and a drizzle of honey.

I soaked sweet peas and pixie lupine for planting. Somehow I got mixed up because the lupine really wasn't supposed to go out until after last frost. I didn't figure this out, of course, until after I had soaked the seeds, so I had to do something with them one way or the other. I ended up starting some inside (just to make sure some survived) and planting the rest out in the garden with a small prayer that they don't try to sprout before frost has really passed. We'll see. Call it an experiment.