I woke this week to the promise of spring. Despite the frost on the grass, it looked like spring. With blue skies, sun warming my office it also feels like spring.

My yard is also buying into this vision of spring with crocuses popping through in my flower beds and some anxious perennials putting up tender green sprouts. I’d like to tell them to wait; Mother Nature is just playing with you. The forecast for next week is possible snow! My wiser perennials are still tucked safely in the ground waiting for the real spring to arrive.

Since it is still February, I know this is simply a spring tease, something Mother Nature likes to do to remind farmers that spring work is not far behind. If this beautiful weather lasts a week or so, farmers will be gazing longingly at their fields. Some may take the bait and try to work ground. They will most likely regret it, especially if they are in a tractor that is mired in mud. The time that it will take to wait for the ground to settle up and dry enough to release the tractor will be excruciating. If the tractor is near the road where everyone can see it, it’s even worse. Having your misery announces to the world is never fun.

The tractors, cultivator, drill, and sprayer have all been serviced and adjusted, ready for work. They sit in the sheds and grass longing to head out and get some real work done. But, like the farmer, they need to wait. Timing is critical to crops, and sometimes waiting for the right time isn’t easy, but it will always pay off.

So, to my farmer and all those others who see the potential of spring. Wait… wait until the time is right. Your loved ones don’t want to deal with a cranky farmer whose tractor is held prisoner by a field.