The March of the Mulch has begun!!

Yes, Finally!!  Too bad the March didn't start in March… but at least it squeaked in before May.

We are finally having a bit of Spring (though there's some snow in the forecast for tonight/tomorrow)…

So I'm finally able to (carefully) start cleaning and re-mulching… this was the first section I tackled… it has my "early risers" (Iris & Daffodil) and a few bushes the bunnies had been gnawing on...

These two lovey-dovey sweethearts were doing an elaborate and very tender mating ritual on the rail of our upper deck… so sweet!!

This Big Boy (a Pileated Woodpecker I named Woody) was making fast work of an old stump at the edge of our woods...

The Hosta's are already pushing out leaves...

My Iris are coming along nicely...

Jacob's Ladder is coming back in… Yeah!!  These were new last year - this section not yet cleaned, as if you couldn't tell...

The Day Lilly's are coming up like crazy, this is my patch of tall ones that are out by the Mailbox…

The usual songbirds are all back and singing up a storm… you'll get pictures of them when I catch them at the feeders (not yet)… We've had Chickadee, Nut Hatch, Black Eyed Junko, House Sparrow, Purple Finch, Goldfinch, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Dove, 3 different types of Woodpecker (we have 4 types in the area)… the Robins have been hopping around in the grass… the Geese have been honking as they fly overhead… the Eagle's Nest (about a mile away) has a pair ready to lay eggs…

The Bunnies & Squirrels are chasing each other all around the woods…

Yep… it's finally Spring!!  I just hope that the forecast is wrong & that we won't get any more snow… but at least I mulched the areas I cleaned, so the plants are somewhat protected...

A Schizophrenic Season!!

Spring here in Minnesota continues to be "off"… one day it looks like this:

You can see lawn… and there are plants trying to come up out of the ground…

And then the next day it's back to this:

Snow clinging to the branches of every tree...

The deck still out-of-use...

Looks like a Christmas scene...

Or perhaps a nice winter postcard...

If it weren't April 23rd… I can't say it's not beautiful… in fact it's stunning - sparkling in the sun… but I want Spring, real Spring, not this crazy stuff we've been having this year…

This morning we could see the lawn...

…and there was hope in the air… the birds were singing…

and then…

  ...big fat flakes…
     …falling from the sky…
         …sigh…

…by mid-morning it looked like this…

And then this is how it looked tonight, with flash:

Same spot, a few seconds later without flash - there's so much white gleaming that it doesn't look dark out (it is)...

Sing it with me Minnesotans!  "This is the Winter that never ends…"
   (it would be funny if it weren't so true…)

Guess I won't be picking up mulch or tomato plants anytime soon… ho hum…

Sprinter… not what we wanted...

If you're wondering why I haven't posted in a while, just take a look at this…

That's right, that's what it's like outdoors in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota… We've had 6 days straight of "Wintery Mix" (Snow, Sleet, Rain, etc)…. Rotten to drive in, and doesn't work well for gardening either…  Normally by now I'd be well into clean-up & mulching… we're getting a really late start this year!!  Good thing I didn't start seedlings, I'd have no place to put them because they'd be overgrowing the tiny area in the house that I have for them...

So, I'm a gardener without a garden… and like the birds I'm thinking that it should have been Spring already (migratory ones are already coming back), but instead we're calling it "Sprinter" - a winter that extends well into spring… doesn't happen frequently, but not unknown in these parts.  Personally, I wish Spring would just come home - I'm tired of waiting for her!!

Sick of Snow...

Our snow pack here in the Twin Cities has nearly melted away… and then… I looked outside my window & what do I see?

Yep, God's got dandruff again… wonder if its worth the effort to buy mulch this weekend?

Harumph!  Come On Spring, Get Here Already!!

Ok… I'm being a grump… but it's a cloudy day & I'm sick… so there… until later…

Hope my friends in warmer places are enjoying the new life springing up out of the earth…