Spring Signs

 

 

They are beginning to add up.

 

• The birds are noisier.
  
• The ducks are jostling for space on the creek, which is flowing.
  
• There are bare patches where old grass is showing through.
  
• Birch catkins are beginning to swell.
  
• Some of the trees are thickening with swollen buds.
  
• The light lasts longer.

There is hope. And some views I can't get enough of. (Though I do prefer some times of year over others...)

It Just Stays Cold and White

Winter seems to have such a stranglehold on the area this year.  We haven't really even had a significant meltoff in over a month and a half, and they say January is the coldest we've seen in quite some time.  It was below zero again this morning, even though yesterday it got up into the 20's and I was able to scrape the inch of ice off of most of the driveway finally. 

Rabbit damage is terrible - some things will be chewed down to the ground.  The little Weigala that is planted near the gazebo is just a couple of stems now - now sure how long that will take to come back.  Seems like we will have to start putting more protection in place in the late fall from  now on if there's going to be this much snow every year. 

The rabbit and squirrel "highways" are deepening, since we haven't gotten a lot of  new snow in the last several weeks.  You can really see their routes.   I also found a bit of the nesting material that had fallen from a squirrel nest that's up in the willow tree.  I imagine they will manage to stay warm anyway - probably will cut more stuff from my plants.

Wednesday night I heard the sump pump downstairs run for the first time in quite awhile, and I feared that it wouldn't make it out to the creek.  But yesterday I walked over to the outlet and found that it was, indeed, still open.  That will be good if ever things really do start to melt.  And since I was out, I took a few more shots of things that are still beautiful  The colors are a bit monotonous this time of year, but some form and structure still survives.  

 

Summer is in full Swing

It was a beautiful morning today (writing on Sunday evening), despite the fact that I have come down with a cold and that Smoke is dying. He has stopped eating and drinking, and is just stopping everything. Doesn't seem to be in pain, but it is hard to watch him and be so helpless.

We expect some rain today or tonight or maybe tomorrow, and we really need it. Yesterday, driving down to Baraboo to meet friends Tom and Bea, we saw the damage done by flooding all over the middle of the state. There were empty lakes, overfilled rivers and streams, barren fields, piles of gravel and sand where they didn't belong, and long detours. But we need rain here - we are seeing almost the same dry July that we've had for several years. It would be nice to have a summer of adequate moisture.

The clematis on the gazebo is blooming beautifully right now. It makes a pretty view from the deck. And the Heuchera - Coral Bells - beneath the front yard birch tree is lovely. Much of the rest of the yard is coming into its full growth, though a little rain and some real heat would really push them into full growth.

Blooming this week for the first time: Shasta Daisies, one Purple Coneflower (despite the fact that they are in bloom profusely all over the city,) Gloriosa Daisies, butterfly weed (Aesclepsis), Coreopsis (maybe they were starting last week..),the new hydrangeas on the east side of the house, Monarda, hostas, Tiger Daylilies, ajuga, and more that I've probably forgotten. In full glory are the Stella d'Oro lilies, various clematis, most of the annuals, delphinium, heuchera (but not the red ones leading up to the front door), margaurite daisies, and, again, some I've likely forgotten.