The tyranny of low expectations

Another sub-freezing day on the NCR and aside from a brief warm up this Thursday and Friday, the long range forecast is pretty bleak.  Snow and freezing temps into the first week of March.  This is the time of year I usually feel building excitement for the coming gardening season.  However, this year it is hard to get excited about anything except breaking the freezing mark, even for a day or two.  With a bad knee keeping me from skiing or running, there is little to mark the passing days.  White is becoming monotonous after 2 months of relentless snow cover in the North Country.   I guess things will get better as time progresses, but it is hard to get enthusiastic about spring when it continues to recede into a hazy future.   Pass the hot chocolate and the seed catalogs.