I can finally say with certainty that we survived the winter, at least to the point that the constant signs of impending spring will keep me going until it really kicks off. The weather over the last few days has been stormy and blustery, switching between torrential rain and blue skies in the course of five minutes, but with that distinct freshness to the air that promises spring. This morning dawned bright and clear and sunny, and we woke up to bird song (as Matt points out, we wake up to "birdsong" every morning, but this morning it was tweety birds in addition to the squawky birds). While my ever-present stack of books and papers told me I should be inside writing a research paper, I made an executive decision to spend the morning outside, which turned out to be a good plan, as now it is 1 PM and the clouds have rolled in again. I puttered around, pulling out dead lemon balm stocks and cutting back the out-of-control roses in our curb strip, and pulled up lots of chickweed and purslane for the hens to scratch through. It feels like spring! You still have to look closely to find proof, but when you seek them out, the signs are everywhere:
(Click on Photos to Enlarge)
Buds on the Asian pear.
I don't know what these will be, but the leaves are pretty!
Pussywillows over the driveway.
The rhubarb is thriving!
Lots of new growth on all our rosebushes.
The first camellia blossom, and many more on the way....
Chives!
The garlic is growing away- apparently mulching it with rabbit poo was a good idea! As far as I can tell, every clove we planted is well on its way to bulbhood.
I think these are going to be the little purple lilies that are so common here in the spring. Whatever they are, they're coming up absolutely everywhere.
Next week is March, and in three weeks we plant potatoes! For me that's the true start the growing season, and I'm very much looking forward to it- it will be the perfect antidote to finals week!
No comments:
Post a Comment