The Great Unveiling......but it's not nice!

At last the snow is beginning to thaw but what a change! From the first fall last Wednesday, which was about three to four inches of fairly dry, powdery snow (ideal for skiing so I was informed) to the wetter stuff that fell yesterday, everything has looked fairly clean. When snow has freshly fallen it makes the whole place look totally different because the light levels are enhanced and when it is pristine, before feet and car tyres have started to churn it up into slush, it even makes the city look pleasant so when the sun shines it's a bonus.
But not anymore. Today, I had to go to the surgery which is about three quarters of a mile away and to say I walked would be a misrepresentation of the facts. Despite being so close to the city centre, the pavements are lethal and I slithered all the way. The weather has been dank, dark and gloomy all day and because the thaw has set in, everything is black and filthy. The roads may be clear but the pavements are still covered in grey, wet, slushy ice and in some places the ice has gone completely black where the dirt has been trodden in.
In the garden, I can see the dark skeletons of plants emerging and some greenery too. Because I did not have the time to cut back everything at the end of autumn due to the rain, also because I like to leave some growth to protect plant crowns from frosts, I will have a considerable amount of pruning and clearing to do next month. This is a time of the year that I quite enjoy because not only will I be able to get outside on dry days, it means that spring will not be too far away and I can look forward to all the plants waking from their winter's sleep and bursting into life.
I always think that the thaw after snowfall is a bit like a bad magician who has put a clean cloth over something and then whisks it away with a flourish only to reveal a complete mess! That's probably because I have a strange sense of humour and I hope that the bad magician doesn't pay us another visit before spring.