I’ve been searching for a word to describe my mood of late, a word that explains the result of allowing the weather-related concerns to take over my life. I’m ashamed to admit that the word is probably “doldrums.” I have allowed the inconveniences of the snow and ice to get to me, not liking the loss of independence, not being able to get things done as usual and missing the social part of life.

So I had a talk with myself. I can’t do anything about the weather. Winter is probably here for three months or so yet, but what I can do is start thinking positively as much as possible and do or think about things that make me happy. One of them is thinking about the days to come, much as a child dreams about Christmas. In my case, it’s looking forward to spring.

Right there on the table next to me was the “Jung Seeds & Plants Spring 2023 Catalog.” It had arrived with the mail two weeks ago, and I set it aside, waiting until later to savor the contents. I love seed catalogs; they’re wish books. Why wait? I poured a cup of coffee and took up the catalog.

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Right there on the cover was a photo of a new bell pepper. According to the description, the “Dragonfly Hybrid Pepper” first turns green, then purple and, if left to fully mature, finally turns red.

On the same page is a “Better Boy Hybrid Tomato” that promises to produce fruit that weigh up to one pound.

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As I turned the catalog pages, I was delighted to find that “Bodacious Yellow Corn Seed” is still available. It’s a Prather family favorite. The eight-inch ears are filled from “tip to tip” with over 16 rows of sweet kernels. There was a lot more to enjoy when turning the pages of the catalog, and reading it brought up happy memories, too. I couldn’t help but think that this year there might be more water for growing a garden.

There’s a lot more “to look forward to” in the months to come. For example, consider the  following …

• warmer weather
• being able to stand on bare ground
• the enjoyment of browsing the bedding plants section of a nursery where I might be able to find my Prairie Flowers (my name for a type of viola that looks as if it might have come off the prairie)
• hearing the robin’s songs
• watching/hearing the Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese as they fly back for the summer
• opening up the windows, cleaning the house top to bottom and hanging blankets and rugs out to dry
• not having to wear two jackets, a heavy coat, two hoods and two pair of socks and pants to do chores
• not having to worry about the car door being frozen shut or the car getting stuck in the ice

There’s a lot more. It’s all about beating the doldrums.