Spring Work Resumes

Oh Boy!  We worked pretty hard the last couple of days transitioning the yard from Winter to Spring.  Many of the things that had been bent and broken by the first snowstorm back in early December were just so obtrusive now that the snow cover had receded.  And it was a dramatic melt for sure.  A week ago it was Winter, and snow still covered most of the yard. Yesterday and today it has seemed like mid summer.  And the snow is almost totally gone from everywhere except the front porch, where the piles left from shoveling are protected by the shade of the house.  

Yesterday and today we worked a few hours each day to begin the cleaning up process.  I cut or pulled the dead old stalks and shoots of perennials around the mailbox, around the pond, around the gazebo, and in the Evergreen garden.  Bill spent the days cutting down about 20 or 25 Green Ash saplings, which could have become nice trees but which we feared would become just more that we'd have to pay to cut down once the Emerald Ash Borer made its way into Outagamie County.  As it is, There are still 15 or 20 that are too large for us to cut down ourselves, and some day they will cost us a pretty penny.

We have a pile of stuff that needs to be burned soon, but have to go get a permit first, and also let the warm air dry things out a little bit more.  And then wait for a calm day of course.  We put most everything that we can in the compost, and put out the woody brush to be shredded.  but there is still this stuff in between.  Some of the neighbors have trailers and cart theirs away every couple of weeks.  I don't really like to burn, but what else?  

The pond is now completely ice free, and fish are beginning to be visible.  We took out the aerator and the heater, and cleaned up around enough to start up the pump.  It took a little cleaning and a little pushing of water through with the hose, but it's working now, and should be able to keep an open area unless the temps fall below 20 for more than a few days.  The water isn't as clear as I wish it would be, and the fish are hard to spot.  But I've seen at least 6 or 7 at a time, and I'll find a way to clear the water soon, I hope.  

In the last couple of days we've seen Robins, Bohemian Waxwings, red-breasted Nuthatches, heard Sandhill Cranes overhead, and of course, the usual Chickadees, various Finches, Mourning Doves, etc.  The Juncos are still around, but I imagine they'll leave any day now. There have been many ducks in the creek over the last week or so, and small groups flying overhead.  And the Cardinals are certainly sizing each other up and claiming territory.  I'm still waiting for the first song of the Red-Winged Blackbird - the true sign of spring.  

Oh, and the first flower of the season has bloomed - the Winter Aconite.  I looked for it yesterday and found nothing.  But today, there were two new emergences, each with a simple yellow flower.  More will come over the next week or two.  This bloom is about 9 days earlier than last year, and it signals the beginning of the challenge I have each year to keep something in bloom from the first bloom in spring until at least the end of October. 

Ducks, Hawks, and new Sprouts

The snow is receding from any thermal retentive surfaces, and the sun is stronger and stronger.  There is an almost 3 foot wide open space along the south side of the house for Kate to explore, and it expands outward in a few places under trees.  She is in heaven, but she is sharing the space with another cat, a visitor who appears to be well cared for but who has been around for several days.  We see  tracks all around the neighborhood that are clearly cat tracks, and we have seen the butterscotch tabby itself almost every evening for awhile.  It runs when we open the door, so we haven't been able to check for a collar or an ID tag.  Hope it finds its way home soon.

Today was the first day I actually found things growing outside, Though I'd not be surprised if I've missed a few things lately.  Because of my surgery, I haven't felt safe walking around out in the snow, so I haven't gotten out to the far reaches of the yard.  But near the deck today I found the first allium sprout, a couple of mushrooms, and the first growth of the hardy amaryllis. 

We've been seeing ducks in the creek, at least two males and one female, maybe more (I find it hard to recognize ducks as individuals...)  The Cardinals and Chickadees still dominate the bird feeders.  My neighbors said there was a flock of robins in one of our trees two weeks ago.  I didn't see them, so I can't count them.  Waiting for my first of the spring.  Should be any day now I think.   

Planting Week 2008

The last three days have been pretty much nonstop planting and finalizing the Summer of 2008 look for the gardens. The frost on Wednesday was the last hurrah of the winter, and now I am confident that the weather will hold. I'm still seeing damage from the frost, but I trust that the things I plant out now will survive.

Finished the basic planting in the garden: tomatoes, peppers, cucumber have joined the broccoli, onions and potatoes that went in three weeks ago. I even put basil out into the herb garden. The flower gardens are evolving: put out the wave petunias, some alyssum, planted the pots for the deck. Finally decided what to do with the tall, green cannas, and put them out into the garden in front of the deck. Finished weeding and chipping the beds around the back yard, and am ready to finish tomorrow with any luck.

The dogwoods are blooming beautifully this week. Also in bloom: Bachelor's Button, wild geranium, swelling buds on the viburnum along the creek. Finally got a shot of the mother duck and her ducklings. Very cute.

The last tree to break leaves and begin to create shade is the Mullberry that I got from our friends Tom and Bea about, oh, ten? years ago. Took home a two foot sapling from their yard and planted it at the edge of the woods. Now it is 30 feet tall, and at least 5 feet inside of the treeline. I guess, as my father urged us when we first bought this property, we have let the treeline e dg e out into the yard,. It's not like we don't have plenty of lawn still. Less each year, perhaps, but still a large amount of monoculture to keep up and mow. Some day this will all be gardens,with only a tiny bit of lawn to create paths between them.

There are very interesting formations on the Austrian Pines that I've not noticed before. I think they are inflorescences, may mostly fall off with a few becoming cones if they are fertilized. Never noticed them before.

Busy Spring Day

The last three days have been pretty much nonstop planting and finalizing the Summer of 2008 look for the gardens. The frost on Wednesday was the last hurrah of the winter, and now I am confident that the weather will hold. I'm still seeing damage from the frost, but I trust that the things I plant out now will survive.

Finished the basic planting in the garden: tomatoes, peppers, cucumber have joined the broccoli, onions and potatoes that went in three weeks ago. I even put basil out into the herb garden. The flower gardens are evolving: put out the wave petunias, some alyssum, planted the pots for the deck. Finally decided what to do with the tall, green cannas, and put them out into the garden in front of the deck. Finished weeding and chipping the beds around the back yard, and am ready to finish tomorrow with any luck.

The dogwoods are blooming beautifully this week. Also in bloom: Bachelor's Button, wild geranium, swelling buds on the viburnum along the creek. Finally got a shot of the mother duck and her ducklings. Very cute.

The last tree to break leaves and begin to create shade is the Mullberry that I got form the Hoffmans about, oh, ten? years ago. Took home a two foot sapling from their yard and planted it at the edge of the woods. Now it is 30 feet tall, and at least 5 feet inside of the treeline. I guess, as my father urged us when we first bought this property, we have let the treeline edge out into the yard,. It's not like we don't have plenty of lawn still. Less each year, perhaps, but still a large amount of monoculture to keep up and mow. Some day this will all be gardens,with only a tiny bit of lawn to create paths between them.

Waiting for Rain and Warm Weather

It is getting so dry that the grass is going dormant, and burning out in the front near the road. There are cracks in the yard a half an inch wide. The garden beds are hard as a rock, which keeps me from planting. This may be a good thing, since the weather is still so unsettled. It looks like we will have above freezing temps for the next week or so, and that should be the end of the killing frost for this season. But I think I said that a couple of weeks ago.

There is rain supposedly coming tonight, and then clouds and more rain possible for the rest of my vacation. I'll take rain, but it may mean that I can't get the planting done.

I saw the female Oriole today at my grape jelly feeder. I was standing just a few feet away when she swooped down to the gazebo and let out a joyous cry. I turned but didn't move much as she flew over to the feeder and ate for a few minutes, then up to the library honeylocust tree and off again into the woods. I think it is quite possible that we have a nesting pair this year.

Yesterday I missed a chance to catch a shot of the ducklings that have hatched and are swimming up and down in the creek with their mother. There are 7 or 8 of them, and my goodness they grow fast. They will be out of here soon, but for now they are very cute.

Of Ducks and Snow and Pussywillows

Yesterday evening when I got home from work I noticed that the snow had FINALLY gone completely from the north side of the house. The pile that I thought would last until at least May 1st only made it to April 14th. The frost is coming out of the ground around there, and we can easily open the front door for the first time since the winter set in.

The other major change that we discovered on arrival home was that the wind had taken down the plastic greenhouse on the deck. We had it anchored with heavy concrete bricks on all four corners, but the winds bringing today's warm weather were strong and Bill found the house completely collapsed, with tools and plants scattered everywhere. I had just put out all of the cactus from the basement and was counting on the shade from the plastic to keep them from getting sunburned. Now I'll have to cover them with burlap until we can get the house re-built this weekend. I think we will nail it to the deck this time.

A walk around the yard revealed the black pussywillow bush had survived the rabbits better this year than last and there were still several tall stems with their pretty black fuzzy flowerheads.



And lastly for today - what is it about ducks that is so funny? The other day a pair of mallard drakes landed in the creek up near the culvert and then just glided downstream with the current, turning slightly from side to side, maintaining almost a totally motionless state as they drifted by. I just couldn't help laughing out loud.