You know, I don’t miss the desert. That was a tough time in my life, and it was hot, dry and lonely. It was better at that nice foster home, but still not all a cowdog needs. 
Yes, this move was a miracle for me. I loved the snow I got to roll in right after I got off the Pilots And Paws plane, then there was acres of ranchland to explore, cows and horses, and mud!
Last year, I was surprised by a big snow about a month after my arrival. I had been tricked by a northern Spring and thought the warmth was here to stay!
And here we are. It is mid-April, tricked by Spring, with a big blizzard again. We had close to 2 feet I think, based on how hard it was for a 24″ dog to navigate outside.
Of course we need the moisture and, this time of year, there can be optimism it will go fast. Indeed, it is melting already in the warming sun. There is only about a foot out there today, and in a few days we’ll have running water and mud again.
But us cowdogs are not known for patience and I want Spring!
We get plants in the mail, small saplings and threadlike shrubs. It is too early to put them out, or at least too impossible until the snow goes down again.
We have tender seedlings in the bathtub under lights, and more in warm windowsills – believing the day will come when the ground is actually warm, and the nights stay above freezing.
We have sorted seeds, testing for germination, planned out gardens and landscapes and orchards. We wait.
And it is quite possible we’ll get flakes piling up again before it is warm enough for rain – maybe this weekend I hear. 
It is still COLD! Today the sun looked so warm, but when we went outside, it was cold and windy. Once, for a moment, the wind quit, the sun came out, the snow was blinding – it was a gentle reminder that whispered: “soon”. 
I read somewhere: “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Romans 8:25 NIV
Endure, carry on, keep waiting – but I want it now! 
The thing is, I want patience to be dropped into me like an instant character trait- installed like a new knee – replacing this gritty frustration with serene acceptance.
It comes, instead, slowly – like the small rivulets of icy water, running to low spots under the heavy snow. Tiny lessons to be gathered, used, added. I have to wait for it!
So while I wait, I’ve decided I will appreciate whatever today brings, 
I will make use of what I have now,
I will be happy in everything, because I can remember good times.
I trust God will, in His time, bring me patience.
And Spring.
Just let me know when it gets here! 
