May first is a snowy, wintery day here at Earthstar Farms. Us gardeners are always hopeful for a gentle un-frozen April and May, yet typically the spring months in the Rockies are when we get a wild diversity of warm sunshine, rain and heavy snowfalls. Even after thirteen years on this land, I still think that every big April snow must surely be the last.

Earth Day was a sunny warm day and I was happy to see our first hummingbird, abundant fruit tree blossoms, fat tulip buds and shiny new Aspen leaves of the season. The hummingbirds in particular are a harbinger of spring for us at Wildcat Gardens. These tiny, feisty birds fly all the way from Central America to the Rocky Mountains for the summer months. On Monday morning Ben put out the hummingbird feeders, and we harvested our first herbs, five big baskets of beautiful nettle leaf. We also spied the first tiny green seedlings of Calendula and fat purple asparagus stalks breaking through the soil. Rhubarb, catnip, garlic, spinach, sweet grass and other early greens also showed their spring vigor. The passionflower vines in the greenhouse are shooting up, their curling tendrils seeking purchase on the trellis. I felt my own energy quicken as I imagined the growing season ahead. It is a delightful, spring-fever surge.

However, on Friday we awoke to cold and snow, and it has not stopped for three days now. My spring-fever had me practically bouncing off the walls, until I settled into a grudging, then grateful acceptance. This snow (the fourth big one this April) is a gift of water, future growth and abundance. Although I do wonder how the hummingbirds cope with this much snow, we are grateful.