When the temperature drops below zero four days in a row, you would expect friends, co-workers and the weathermen to be talking about the frigid temperatures and how heating bills are ruining our lives. But no, by the sound of it, spring was in the air.During the cold spell last week I had a handful of conversations about spring. The first was with a co-worker who looks forward to spending time on the patio decks she had built with her husband last summer.Another took place with my 2-year-old niece. She had wanted to play at the park but was explaining she couldn’t do so until spring when the flowers grow. Next, the weatherman was spouting off about how this deep freeze would mean great things when it comes time for budding in the spring. He said this while standing in front of a five-day forecast of single digits. Finally, my husband had at least three conversations this week about our yard and how exciting it is going to be to watch life spring out of the snow upon the next change of season.This is my first winter in Minnesota, but not my first in the Midwest. I understand that we have just started our lengthy dance with the cold clutches of winter. This season is far from over, yet it seems everyone is dreaming of the day they can stop being a prisoner of the furnace.I guess those around me are dealing with winter’s hibernation by focusing on the joy that comes with the rebirth of spring.Personally, I am going to embrace winter, as long as the temperatures are in the double digits — positive double digits. When they fall below, I am content to hide away in my house with my cats, blankets, some cocoa and a good movie trilogy.