Friday, April 03, 2009

Spring Happens

Slowly but surely my yard is awakening, between dustings of snow.... .....luckily the hellebores don't mind.

Hey! My lavender is alive! This is the second year it's returned, even here in zone 4!

This Turkey Tail fungus is even green, in the spirit of the season (or because it's covered in algae...whatever :)


Lamium is greening up and bustin' through the snow...well, as much as a plant can "bust through".....


...some Naked Ladies/surprise lilies emerge as well.
Gizmo and Bentley sure appreciate the increased bird activity...

...and the river ice is melting in big chunks. Heh, the one to the left looks like "home plate" to me.


I love to see the water clearing off....

...it sounds really noisy as the ice floats by!



Mr. and Mrs. cardinal are regular visitors now-hooray! I hope that means they'll nest nearby after all these years. (I've only begun seeing cardinals here recently, despite feeding birds for the last 10 years.)

About every other day it's another sprinkle of sugary snow...
...followed by a quick melting. Looks like my fancy "pot stand" is a goner! Ah well, dust to dust, eh? :)

Some of the manure in my truck thawed enough to spread on my asparagus bed... ...but the wheelbarrow will be no help, and I can't find my tarp to drag it on. Guess it's "plan B"...

...aha! When is a cooler not a cooler?


When it's an "amendment hauler"! Now you may be thinking "Yuck! I'll never picnic with this broad!" Fair enough. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do for her asparagus...
...especially when it's a weedy mess like this!


Under the old foliage remains some ice...
...there! Now the dark manure will help melt the ice and feed my hungry spears...

...and once the snow is finally gone they can feed me!


Hooray for spring!

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Great post although I froze looking at some of them. The last pic is really pretty! You're right a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And a little bit of dirt never hurt anyone. I'll go on a picnic with ya! ;-)

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

I'm so glad spring is finally making its way to your garden. My Lavender had mixed results from the winter. The 3 yr old variegated Lavender died, but the new, clearance root-bound plants I stuffed in the ground last fall all survived & look great. Go figure.
LOL - if I ever I picnic with you, I'll bring the drinks in my own cooler!

lisa said...

RainGardener-Thank you for your kind (and fearless) comments! :)

Mr. McGregor's Daughter-Sounds about right that the least expensive, late-planted specimen would do the best! Hey, the more drinks, the better! (No matter how they're transported ;-)

Swimray said...

I survived the slow winter withdrawals a few weeks ago here in Virginia. An early March snowstorm dumped more snow than we had all winter.

Recently, I found my Mr. Oregano bit the dust over winter after about 10 years. Hope you have no casualties when your snow melts.

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Hi Lisa, Don't worry, we Midwest gals are nothing if not practical! I use a round sled (with rope tied to a handle) when a tarp or wheelbarrow won't work, but a cooler is just as, erm, cool! I like solving problems with what's on-hand. I can even be a bit msug about it! LOL. I do like the sound of the ice melting/moving, and am glad spring is reaching you. I've had pretty good luck with all kinds of lavenders, even dividing them (which is apparently a no-no so I'm glad my lavenders don't read the books!), but I'm in zone 5. Happy spring!

Courtney K. said...

Hi Lisa. I'm new to your blog but can relate to it, living as I do in northern MN (Zone 3!). Thanks for sharing so much- it's nice to see those little signs of spring. We had a male cardinal singing in our yard today, the first in months, and our first-of-spring seagull flyover. Happy sprinter (spring/winter)!

MrBrownThumb said...

Love the pic of the cats just itching to get out and get a chance at those birds. LOL.

troutbirder said...

Hey Lisa. I'm ready to go gardening any day here. All your projects though make me feel somewhat like a slacker though.

lisa said...

Swimray-Yikes! Those late snows are a real drag. Someday I hope to have some sort of "frost covers" to avert disaster for tender stuff, but working for a living can make timing a real issue. :)

Monica-Good to know about the lavender! Mine is in a really shallow dish, and I wouldn't mind dividing it so I have more than one clump to improve my odds.

Court K-"Sprinter"...I love it! Happy Sprinter to you, too! (Heh, that word makes so much sense in our climates since it describes what the plants do when they can finally get going, also :)

Mr. BrownThumb-The boys are funny like that, although on the rare occasions that they escape there's no attention paid to the birds at all.

Troutbirder-I already know from your blog that you're no slacker! I'm just biting off more than I can chew, as usual. There will certainly be some carnage, chaos and disarray to follow. :)

Unknown said...

Aw heck. Once that cooler's washed out it'll be good as new. Aren't we supposed to have microbes in our diet anyway?
My tulips have started to poke through the ground. The winter snow layer in the front yard are getting thinner and thinner. I hope it dissappears completely soon.

Anonymous said...

Great post!
I can't believe that lavender keeps coming back for you! They die here if I just get a bit too much moisture on them.
Throw a little bleach water in that cooler and it'll be good to go. :)
Since you already got that compost loaded and all...Come on down for a visit, I'm thinkin' compost beats the hell out of a bottle of wine as a hostess gift...heh
v.

lisa said...

Cinj-LOL! I'll have no shortage of microbes if I don't use some bleach when I clean that cooler! My tulips are starting to show now too...yay!

V-Thank you! My lavender is probably happy because it's in a really shallow dish that dries out fast. I still can't believe how well it does under snow, but I'll take it! BTW, I'd LOVE to bring you some compost, if I wasn't planning on using it all! ;-)

chuck b. said...

I know you love winter sports, but yay spring!

lisa said...

Thanks Chuck! Woot woot!