Must Be Thursday...

Here's some proof I was actually up to see the sunrise today.

After we'd finished the breakfast event, I walked down the parking lot to enjoy this colony of Glory of the Snow (chionodoxia) which blooms a little more grandly with each year at the edge of the driveway.


This little heather, with the big pink color, was the best part of gassing up the car this afternoon. $3.15 a gallon. I wonder if I can adapt my car to run on a giant rubber band if I twist it up real tight before I hit the road. Although, I have to say, my Saturn ION seems to get pretty great mileage.

Returning home, I discovered a few of the new crocuses I planted in the fall have begun to bloom. This was the nicest of the bunch.

Inside, the forcing of apple branches is proceeding nicely, with leaves unfurled and blossom buds almost ready to open. You can see down in the corner that my African violet is continuing to bloom great guns.

A Not So Sunny Sunday

Starting off today, I offer you this little glory of the snow plant, which I spied yesterday outside the restaurant, but failed to include in last night's post.

I'm not sure we had an actual freeze last night, but it was certainly chilly...a condition which continued throughout this overcast day. I still got a reasonable amount accomplished in various garden locales, but did so with more layers than I needed earlier in the week.



Here's a long shot of the garden at the back of the house. Let's see, from left to right, there's violets, trillium, primroses, money plant, assorted daffodils, a host of hostas, and a rose bush, with assorted ferns mixed in here and there.

Oh, yes...and a chipmunk waiting behind the trillium for me to go away!


In the back garden (which you can see is starting to look a bit tidier than the winter had left it), I got a good deal more weeding done, and started spreading around some of that new topsoil.


The cherry tree's blooming pretty nicely...and I think I heard the telltale sounds of baby chickadees from inside this old birdhouse.

There was certainly plenty of bird activity out there this morning, like this chipping sparrow who was rooting around in the unraked territory beneath the apple tree.


There were the usual chickadees and cardi
nals ...and I think I heard an oriole (it's been a few months, though, since I've heard them, so I'll reserve confirmation of their return until a visual sighting is possible.). A mob of crows were trying to deter some larger bird from raiding their nests. I saw them all more in silhouette than dead clearly, but I think a hawk was the culprit they pursued.


I also spent some attention on the front garden bed, from which I attempted yet another surgical removal of the rampant wisteria vines that crisscross the bed. I have little hope I got it all...but I was able to get a heck of a lot of the stuff out, which is a step in the right direction. Once that was done, I added some of that nice fresh topsoil.


From the road as I left for work comes this view of our very full pond. Nice little spot.


And I'll bring the weekend to a close with a reminder to you all: the days of Spring go by pretty quickly and before you know it, you're trying to figure out how to disguise old daffodil foliage behind daylilies...so don't forget to stop and enjoy the flowers!!