That was Yesterday…

And this is Today:

Oh well.  Spring will come eventually.  I hope.

The Melt begins… and ends.

I’ve been taking snapshots of our yard over the last week to document what I had hoped would be the beginning of the end for our deep snow cover.  And although it has been pretty dramatic, the snow beginning outside of my window this morning foretells a reversal of this good fortune.  Tomorrow’s post will show the results of today’s storms, but for today, the week past in pictures taken each day at about 4:30 PM, starting last Sunday.

These are views of our pond

And here the view from the deck to the willow

Spring!

OK, maybe not quite yet.  But it is in the wings, just waiting.  Even though we have had snowfall after snowfall, I believe that Winter is about to loose its hold on us.  For a variety of reasons.
The light is stronger in the afternoon for sure.  Punxsutawney Phil,  the most frequently cited groundhog in the prediction business, did not see his shadow this morning and thus predicted an early spring.  And yesterday, when we tried to move the snow away from the pond heater we found at least a three square foot opening in the pond.  Not sure why that happened, probably because the heater was buried under snow that acted as a blanket of sorts.  But it felt good.
The number of birds in the yard has been nothing short of amazing.  Must be 20 or 30 Goldfinches, as many House Finches.  A band of Chickadees checks in several times a day.  Quite a few Juncos, and many sparrows.  The Cardinals are frequent visitors to the feeders – not as many as in summer, but at least one pair is a regular.  I’ve seen two Nuthatches pecking their way down the trunk of the library honey locust a couple of times.   They collectively go through the contents of our five feeders in short order, which keeps Bill out in the yard filling them every other day or so.  I put out some suet, hoping to attract the woodpeckers that I hear occasionally to come closer, but haven’t been successful so far.
In the basement, the geraniums that have been hanging in the cold room are ready to be sliced up into cuttings and rooted for spring planting.  I hope that works better this year than last.  Our neighbors say that we start too late usually, and they do their rooting in the first week of February.  So that will be tomorrow’s assignment. 
There are also many other plants in the lighted basement plant stand that have been holding their own since I saved them last fall from the killing frost.  Mostly from cuttings, but some from the severely cut back mother plant, they have grown nicely over the winter with little attention.  Now is the time to cut them back again, and start thinking about hardening them off to make the transition to outside in a few months. 
Only three plants have survived from the Rex Begonia leaf cuttings I took.  I had over 15 plants a year ago, but they had all come down with some sort of fungal infection which no amount of anti-fungal spraying could cure.  They struggled over the summer, but never really recovered.  I took 7 or 8 leaf cuttings in fall and really immersed them in antifungal treatment before trying to root them.  They all rooted, but only three survived the transplant into individual pots.  I think I finally understand why these are so expensive.  I’ve always had such great luck with them until now. but when they go they go fast.

More Summer 2010 photos, just for fun.

 

Second Half of October, and Still Beautiful

The weather this fall has been unbelievably fantastic.  Day after day of perfect, warm, sunny days.  And with the amount of rain we got this summer we can handle the dry fall.  The yard is gorgeous even as it declines.  And it is so nice to be able to work on it an hour or two at a time instead of spending entire weekends doing essential chores.

Today a flock of Cedar Waxwings descended upon the spruce in our evergreen garden to savor the ripe berries there.  Two or three bold Robins joined them.  I expect that all of the berries will be gone by tomorrow or the day after.  The Waxwings are such dressy birds, like men suited up for a formal event.  Not flashy like the Cardinals, they are smooth and green, with a yellow border at the end of their tail and a small crest.  I noticed them earlier as they gathered at the top of one of the Ash trees along the creek.  They flew away then, but I suspected that they had identified the Juniper berries as a feast.  An hour later they were back, devouring the berries.  Couldn’t get any really good shots, but had a fun time watching.
 
Been cleaning up this fall more than usual, and have every good intention of being more disciplined next year.  This summer was so wet and hot, and I couldn’t get out into the yard very much when it mattered.  The vegetable garden was pretty bad, even though we did harvest at least 20 pounds of potatoes and 10 of onions.  Tomatoes died early, peppers never got going, great cucumbers for the first half of the summer, and must admit I let the zucchini get overgrown.  Next spring we will build raised gardens, with bark chip walkways between, and try to civilize the area once again. 

The pond was cloudy all summer this year.  But late in July I became aware that somehow the three fish that survived the winter had passed on their genes and created at least 30, maybe 40 offspring.  Some of them are almost two inches long by now, and I hope they survive the coming winter.   Working now to stabilize the Ph levels before we put in the aerator and heater for winter.

Summer Solstice

Amazing Spring.  Hot days.  Plenty of rain.  Things grew so fast.  Welcome to the Summer.  Hope the plentiful moisture continues, with perhaps less wind.  And it would be nice if the rabbits would not be quite as successful.  They have been eating everything, or at least biting into it enough to kill it.  I guess the good weather is good for everyone. 

It has been nearly impossible to keep the grass cut to a reasonable length.  And everything is growing SO fast! 

Iron Birds Rule

Bill has been pushing to find some “yard art” for a couple of years.  And I haven’t been so sure about the idea.  But last weekend we went out for a country drive with our good friends Tom and Bea, and found “Digger Dan’s” place.  We knew about him through Katie and Webb, and Bill has been wanting to go there for awhile. 

When we first looked at the display in the yard I was un-impressed.  But, as with much art, you have to look for awhile, and let your eyes and your mind settle around what you are seeing.  There was just so much there!  And, although Dan was not home, his lovely wife was, and I was enormously impressed with her gracious hospitality.   This was Memorial Day weekend, and we were intruders in her lovely yard and garden.  Yet she was welcoming and friendly, and made us feel welcome. 

After a half hour or so of the four of us walking around and looking at things, Bill and I both noticed a couple of large iron birds.  They were, all of a sudden, totally different from all of the other pieces, and exactly what we wanted.  We asked a price for one, and then asked if we could buy two at that price.  She wasn’t sure if he would be willing to part with both.  We gave her the price of one, and a card with our name and phone, etc. saying that we’d make contact the next week to finalize and pick up one (or two) birds.  Since Bill loved one of them, and I loved another, it was important to have them both. 

Two days later, Bill went back and was able to buy and pick up both birds.  They look great in our front yard, even if they are hard to photograph with enough contrast to show them off.  You’ll have to come over some time to see them.