182 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 



earnest; we who wrap ourselves in such ex- 

 pectations are apt to be downcast by. the stern 

 realities of sleet and rain and slush, and the 

 favors of goddess Flora deferred. We are apt 

 then to be angry with the poets, to wish to re- 

 organize the calendar, or to find a subterfuge 

 for our disappointments in the old adage that 

 gives March's entrance the similitude of that 

 of the Lion or of the Lamb as the case may be. 

 However we shall find stirring us into a hap- 

 pier frame of mind that indefinable something 

 that tells us with unerring certainty when 

 Spring is here, despite any of the astronomical 

 observations of the industriously wise to the 

 contrary in point of time. 



So let us not expect to hasten Nature's 

 bounty, and do not let us become impatient be- 

 cause we cannot. Instead, let us remember 

 what a lot of things we really have on hand this 

 month to think about in preparing for the sea- 

 son soon to arrive. We can do much cleaning 

 up in the garden during the spring thaws that 

 are sure to come this month. If our last year's 

 gardening was not completely successful by 

 reason of our not having been able to obtain 

 sufficient fertilizing material, we may do well 



