Spring Signs

It really is beginning to look as though Spring will arrive!  The fish in the pond are swimming to the top, and I am amazed that they all seem to have survived.

The bricks you can see are holding down the enormous clump of waterlilies that fill most of the bottom of the pond.  I don't see any growth there yet, but soon I hope.





Today we put up the greenhouse on the deck.  It just seems like the kind year that I want to have it there for protection and transition help.

We also dragged out the patio table and two chairs and it was actually nice enough out there today to sit briefly and listen to the birds sing.

Many tulips are coming up around the yard, and some crocus are popping out though not blooming quite yet.



This has been the worst year ever for evergreens browning.  The dwarf Alberta Spruce took it the hardest.  And the Yucca plant is likely going to have to be cut down to the ground, which will slow and/or reduce the blooming.  They are really just on the border of being hardy here I'd say.  I lose the top parts at least every other year, though the roots do survive and regenerate the plant

 

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.