February Hibernation

Sorry, February, but I've never been a fan.

I've started to call this time of year my February hibernation, or slump, or depression. The joy and the shine of the holiday season is long past, and Spring seems too far off to be hopeful. The weather is usually crap, and this year was no exception. The Philadelphia area got hit especially hard with snow, and ice, and sleet, making it difficult to get on with the daily routine. The chickens are literally cooped up, the dogs are rammy because they're not getting their ya-yas out running around outside, and speaking of ya-yas I don't think I'm getting mine out either. Harumpf. I tell myself every year, "Jackie, you should schedule lots of fun things to do for that time and it'll go by so much faster! Great idea, Past Jackie, but Present Jackie isn't buying it.

Now that I think of it, February is more like my molting period. Chickens go through a yearly molt where they stop laying eggs, loose a bunch of feathers, okay a lot of feathers, and generally look miserable. I think the end of winter is like that for me. I'm not too creatively inspired, and it's a time to hole up and just be unproductive for awhile because Spring will arrive soon enough with plenty to do!

Today, I felt like I was getting my mojo back, or to keep with the molting analogy my feathers have grown in and I've laid my first egg in awhile. I even felt like writing this post, and updating an old one. Hopefully crabby Jackie is ready to get on with the year. We'll see.