Yes, it's usually pretty long -- although I live in the "banana belt" of the Upper Peninsula, near the northern shore of L. Michigan, which is a LOT better IMO than the southern shore of L. Superior, which is where winter *really* sets in. This year has been incredibly mild and very little snow, actually almost half of my garden is snow free right now, which is almost unheard of! As for how to get through -- read seed catalogs, make and revise (over and over) your garden plan, and, of course, hang out with other internet gardeners! and then I always get tricked by Mother Nature because when March rolls around my instincts tell me it should be spring, but we often get most of our snow in March and April, so that can be a little frustrating... Right now it's just really nice that the daylight hours are getting noticeably longer, the short days and lack of winter sunshine can be the worst part of winter up here!
