I cleaned house and yard.

It was a fine day to work outside. What was forecast to be a 63 degree day has turned into 70 degree reality. Yeah. It's sweet. I took full advantage cleaning the house this morning while it was still cool out. There was a frost overnight. I found myself just sitting still a few too many times.



I cut everything back along the side of the house. Too early? I don't care. Today was the day to do it. I needed to evaluate my empty pockets and decide what to do about them.



The perennial bed got whacked on both coming and going.



I also raked the leaves to expose the clover that grows in the path.



I removed the trellis over the entry to the backyard. I don't know exactly what to do yet, but I have an idea. Copper's still expensive. I might end up doing it in pvc and paint it. Carla's suggestion. I also raked the backyard after cutting and hauling the tree out of the way. Some still remains. I'll get to it on Monday.



I cleared the swing of vines. Morning glory and moonvine seeds were scattered in place again.



I noticed the Mahonia.



And pansies.



And I tossed a lot of rocks into the gully. This one has a scratch from what I can assume is a lawnmower blade.



It was good getting my hands in dirt. I planted hyacinths and other spring blooming bulbs. They were already sprouting in the attic where they were being stored. It's cold up there and usually dark. I hope they all make it. Spring is on the way. Hurry.

It's 70 degrees. I got a sunburn.

5:43pm - I attacked the 58 pansy hanging baskets I got for cheap. The plan was to use this soil for my wintersowing. I'm going to round up all my seeds tonight and formulate a plan. It may be too late to sow some things without using the fridge. That's just not in my vocabulary. So I'll scatter them in the beds. They'll get more chill there than in the containers. Half the containers filled a 40 gallon can.

Got Rope?

Carla brought over a spool of rope 350' long. It was purple. I tied a brick from the succulent bed around the end. A few twirls and I released it. It didn't land where I had hoped, but it had snagged a branch. I walked the rope up the branch closer to the trunk. A few sharp tugs later, Ta-Da!



It fell perfectly between everything I value. I can live with some damage. I no longer have a tree hanging in the backyard. I'll spend today cutting it up.



I also hope to have some time to clear out some of the grasses. I've already noticed the lirope is showing new growth. Oh, didn't I mention, it's going to be in the mid 60s today. Perfect gardening weather after a long, miserably cold winter. I know, there's still time left, but I've decided winter is almost over. And I've still not sown a single seed.

It's almost time.

I need to take cuttings of my figs in the next few weeks. It's almost time to start cleaning up the winter interest in the garden. Things are happening. With 60 degrees in the forecast this weekend and plenty of rain already, we should see some spurts here and there. I can't wait.


Flowering quince finally looks like it might flower this year.



I thought these were hyacinths, but they appear to be squill.



Agastache. Tough plant whether winter or summer.



It's 43 degrees. More firewood has been split and hauled inside.

Still here.

I'm living life through the doldrums of winter. It's 45 degrees and rainy. At work today, they let two upper management people go. Lowe's is restructuring their stores. Other things are in the works such as hiring a bunch of new people. I don't know what else is in store. We were told about this after the fact, of course.

I still haven't sown any seeds. I don't know if I will. I've got some that were gifts that I really do want to sow. I just haven't found my motivation yet. Maybe this weekend when I have a day off. Or maybe I'll try to get that tree to finally come unhung from the white oak. It's still hanging there, through ice and wind and rain. Todd says I should just call it art. Murphy's Law would kick in and it would fall to the ground. I'm thinking rope.

The weather has been better lately. It's been warmer during the day. It was almost balmy just before it started to rain. I moved my desk downstairs to the basement. It's warmer down here. I'm still cutting firewood when I have time. Mostly, I spend time talking on the phone.

I realized today that if I'm going to make this idea of my future come true, I really need to focus more on that. The garden will do its thing. I never had much control over it anyway. It's still here.

A kerfuffle

Took down a dying tree yesterday.



And another is somehow hung in the big tree it fell against. Don't ask how I got to this point. It's not a pretty story.





Time to call dad.

It's 36 degrees and misting rain. Going to be a soggy wet day. We should get into the mid 50s by afternoon when it starts to rain again. I'm off from work with nothing that I must do today aside from paying a bill. Life's good. I might sow some seeds.

Finally

43 degrees already today. Should reach the upper 40s by this afternoon. 64 days til spring. Yes, I'm still counting.

Icicles.

I spent my day staring at icicles. The melting was in earnest.



Even now, the trees still glisten.



In the voice of David Attenborough, green has returned to the tundra once more.



It's 36 degrees. I'm listening to this. A cup of coffee on the desk. A friend on the way over for supper. I think I have cleaned the basement for the last time.

I need to sow some seeds soon.

Tomorrow

The forecast calls for 32 degrees today. We're currently at 25. The skies are clear. The sun is bright. I'm optimistic.

Ice, ice. Baby.

We didn't get much more snow. Instead, we got these tiny little pellets that might have been a misting rain were it warmer. They stuck to everything.

Uphill both ways from the house is no way to go to work in a rear wheel drive truck. I called it a snow day.













Ice coats everything. I really cleaned the basement today including vacuuming the dust from the top of the air ducts. I gave it a good once over. The house is warm. The music is loud. I'm off the next two days. It's 30 degrees and falling.

Mostly in the Afternoon.

Someone got their forecast wrong. Unless we're going to have a lot more snow later today. Already, about 2 inches have fallen.

Miscanthus is holding strong.



The sedum is showing neither fire nor joy.



I love grasses in the snow. This is a switch grass.



Blue skies can be seen occasionally through the clouds. More is on the way.



It's 27 degrees. Down from 30 at 6am.

Coming Soon.