So much for my wishing of spring to return. I just looked up from my desk to see snow falling outside the newsroom. This was the scene outside our building underneath our coral bark Japanese maple a few minutes ago.

When will end, you ask? All I can offer is the latest forecast from the National Weather Service:

Tonight...Becoming mostly cloudy. A chance of rain after midnight. Lows in the 30s. Light wind.-- Tuesday and Tuesday night...Rain likely. Highs in the 50s. Lows in the mid 30s to lower 40s. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph.

Like most of you I watched with amazement Saturday morning as snow fell in Tacoma and many other Puget Sound areas.

I've had it with this weather. By sheer force of will I tried to wish away the cold by sowing the first seeds of my garden yesterday.

OK, I didn't go crazy and start planting corn and sunflowers. But I did sow onions, lettuce, carrots and raddichio. I admit I had pangs of nervousness this morning but then I remembered: they're just seeds. And by the time the really warm weather hits later in the week they should be starting to stir.

I've added some decomposted manure and other organic amendments to my raised beds and mixed up the old soil thoroughly. I haven't paid any attention to crop rotation or what could be living in the soil so it'll be a little bit of an experiment.

The raised bed has already attracted one admirer: this robin was busy looking for worms this morning.

It just better stay away from my seeds.