It's Not Only Me That Wants to Get Outside

Today was a beautiful, sunny day, but quite cold. The temperature was 37 degrees F. when I ventured outside into the bckyard this morning. Our long Winter was hard on some of the plants in our yard. I removed two large Lavender plants that had died. Now there is room for something new. Yes, a trip to the plant store is needed.

What I really want to tell you is about the pink Geranium in my basement. It was pretty last Summer and Fall , so I decided to try to keep it alive and have it again this Summer. It has survived and is pushing its way toward the sunshine. I,m thinking that it wants to get out into the backyard too.

Composting

I decided to try composting. For several years I would pile clippings and yard waste in a pile behind a pine tree in the back yard. I would remember to turn it once in while but never did create the "black gold" you read about in the books and magazines. So, this year I bought a black plastic composting bin. Put it down in the backyard in a spot that gets lots of sun. But the weather has been too cold and wet for much gardening so the only things in it are some egg shells, potato peelings and orange peelings. So as soon as the weather changes there will be lots of clippings and leaves to go into it also. Then I will be on my way to creating the "black gold".

Spring Cleanup Begins

We had a few days with some sunshine and warmth and we started cleaning up the yard. It was a decade and a half ago that we planted and nurtured the new plants in our yard. We were starting with land that had not been planted or worked before. It sits at the base of a mountain range and our new subdivision was just begining to make its mark. So the process of putting in a yard with lawn and trees and plants was quite a work out. Rocks were a big concern. There were many in places that could be better used for lawn and gardens. So, we dug and moved them to what we though were better spots. Digging a whole for a tree or shrub could take a long time.  Once in a while a crowbar would be brought out to help nudge a particularly large rock from a spot picked for a tree.

Once it was all planted we tended everything carefully, watering, feeding and loving each new plant. But then some grew and grew and grew. They got too big for our backyard and needed to be taken out to make room for something new and something smaller. The result; a pile of leaves and branches and roots, that grew quite large and sits on the edge of the street in front of our house and waits for the city crew to come and take it away.
This vegetation will be processed and turned into lovely black compost that can be purchased and returned to the yard as topdressing.

No Backyard News

Spring is slow in coming this year. At this time we usually have a large pile of brnches, plants and leaves in front of our yard. But because of the snow and rain and cold and wind, there is no pile this year. I seem to be a fair weather gardner now. There is one week left before the city trucks come by to pick up our yard surplus, so maybe by next weekend the pile will have appeared.  The deer have helped in cleaning the yard to a small degree. They have pullled up the pansy plants and chewed the new day lily starts down to the ground.  I guess the hills have been so covered with snow that they were very hungry and that is why they visited the backyard so often this Winter.

Oh Deer!!

The snow is gone now. I ventured down into the  backyard to look for signs of Spring. But what I found was not the sign I was looking for. The deer had sampled the pansy plants and I guess those plants were not to the deer's liking.  I found the little plants, roots and all, had been pulled up and then left on the lawn uneaten. I gathered them up and replanted them and will wait and see if they grow.

This mornings View

As I looked out the kitchen window this morning, I saw a backyard covered with snow. Still pristine, no animal tracks yet. The storm last night kept most living things in. The day should warm and melt some of this snow, but not all.  Our Spring cleanup is on hold for another few days.  So the only flowers for me are the little yellow blossoms on the Primrose resting on the edge of my kitchen sink.

March Sky

There is blue sky mixed in with the white and grey clouds today offeriing a chance of sun and warmth or rain and cold. Maybe before the day is over we will have both.  The fact that there is some blue today offers a hint of things to come.  Another sign of Spring was noticed on a short drive to the next town at lunch time today. Orange cones, piles of gravel, men in orange vests and white hard hats, alerted us to road repairs, that though needed, are difficult to maneuver through with our cars, bikes or especially when walking.