Slushy February weather

We've had temperatures hovering just above the freezing mark for the last 3 or so days, even at night. And daytime temps have been rising above freezing for at least a couple days longer. It's been nice to be able to be outside without being seriously bundled up, and Little M has been enjoying splashing in the slush & mud puddles for the first time. However, the driveway is not so nice. Slushy, wet, mucky, that about sums it up.

Since we moved in here the driveway has been deteriorating. Once a graveled lane at one point in the past, it now is more a dirt lane, with a bit of gravel thrown in in spots. There is a section running down through the middle that gets washed out deeper with ever heavy rain, and that trench (which was on the list to fill in in late fall but must have been forgotten) is getting very mucky right now. There is water actively flowing down it. Coming from where you ask? I have no idea whether it is just snow melt, or if there is a seep area that surfaces there sometimes.

Either way, it is making the driveway a bit of a mess to drive on. Although it is just an inconvenience for us right now - since both of the vehicles we are driving right now are 4 wheel drive capable, we just switch them into four to get out - we have to make sure visitors either are aware so they don't get stuck in the muck. We need to get some gravel put down at least, and longer term I'd love to have some heavy equipment in to tear some ground out, put in some coarser gravel to let things drain, and then level it out on top with some finer stuff. However that is likely a few years down the road yet, so I may be out there fixing the trench up in a few weeks if this warmer weather sticks around.

The ashes from our woodstove have been working well at melting the formerly icy spots though, so at least we aren't slipping and sliding around while walking too and from the garage, carport, or mailbox, so at least something is working right around here! The warm weather, and advancing months, have been getting me really eager to start working in the garden, so I've finally been sitting down and deciding exactly which seeds to order, which will still be good from last years' stash, and which seed catalog to order from. Although a part of me is still yearning for a few more heavy snowfalls, another part of me is ready for green sprouts and loose soil...