Despite what you might think from last night's snow storm, the icy roads & your frozen car locks this morning, Spring is really just around the corner.  The reason I can say that without reservation is this:

Every year about this time, Lylene starts to drop comments to me about how nice it would be if the windows were washed.  It's just a subtle nudge at first but after 41 years of married the nudges become not subtle .  It's when I find the squeegee, bucket & extension handle on my chair at the breakfast table that I know she really is serious about it & that if I don't want her putting the milk on my dry cereal the night before I actually eat it, I'd better get with it.  Anyway, she has not put the window washing paraphernalia on my breakfast chair yet, but all signs point to that shortly.

Joe's Garden's Spring Opening
The next indication of Spring is the sign at Joe's Gardens ( I actually took the photo a few days ago & at that time they were scheduling a March 1st opening.  It has now changed to March 2nd).  All winter it stands there in silent witness to one of the Pillars of Free Enterprise in Bellingham.  Anyway. I drove by the sign just a few days ago & saw that on the sign they had included their opening information.  I just talked to Jason Weston, one of the owners, to find out what they would have available on Opening Day, the 2nd.  Jason told me to expect a full complement of flower & vegetable starts.  Joe's Garden holds a special spot in my heart for a variety of reasons beginning with the Weston family themselves.  This is truly a family business, with Carl & Carol Weston purchasing the Garden from Joe Bertero in 1983 & in recent years being joined in the business by their 2 sons, Jason & Nathan.  They have a work & family ethic that is a joy to see.  I'm honored to call them my friends.  Another reason Joe's Gardens is important to me is that it is this farm where my Mom's family lived  before they moved to their home at 16th & Donovan.  Just one more piece of historical trivia & then I'll move on.  Jason told me that in 1922 Joe Bertero bought a farm from his uncle located on Iowa St & then purchased the farm at 31st & Taylor in 1933.  Joe operated them both for awhile but because the Iowa St property continually flooded, he ultimately sold it.  It would have been hard for him to imagine them that his Iowa St location would later become Auto Row.

Another tell tale Spring indicator for me are the robins.  It seems as though there are always a few around but in the last couple of days I have noticed them in droves. In fact, our neighbor's cat practically had a seizure the other morning when a group of robins flew in their back yard.  I thought for sure Felix was going to throw his jaw out he was chattering so hard.

If you don't put any stock in any of the above, this is the clincher.  The newspaper coverage lately of the Seattle Mariners is the talk of many breakfast tables.  Of course the addition of Ken Griffey Jr to their roster certainly added fuel to the fire.  I understand that when the news broke, Seattle fans reached down in their pockets & in one day bought 17,000 season tickets.  Hard to imagine that in the middle of the worst economy this country has known since the Great Depression of my parents generation that a single news story could have that much impact.  Anyway, hope springs eternal but there are apparently a bunch of Seattle fans who are betting on their Team.

 So with that said, I don't exactly recommend you rush out to sell snow shovels on Craig's List anytime soon, but you might want to start getting in the spirit of Spring because it's just around the corner.  If you don't have confidence in my forecast methods, you can always check out the local weather forecast but I'll bet that my method is just as accurate.

By the way, if you or your friends and family have any questions about Whatcom County Real Estate, we'd be delighted to talk to you.  You might be interested in our monthly "Whatcom County State of the Neighborhood Report".