Monday:
Since I posted yesterday we had about 10 cm. of snow, it looks like. That doesn’t stop me from reading gardening blogs and getting excited about my future plantings. I’m on the Dave’s Garden Blog email list, so I get an update every Monday from that huge site, which I recommend for lots of interesting info.
One of the short articles in today’s newsletter was about my favourite (gardening) topics of late, monarchs and milkweed. It points out that not all milkweed is appropriate for the backyard garden and some are difficult to grow and/or difficult to transplant once established. The author, Marie Harrison, promises a follow-up article with more in-depth information on the subject. Looking forward to that. In the meantime, if you’re interested, you can read her article here.
Wednesday:
Wow, so much can change in just a day or two, weather-wise, this time of year. Yesterday and today actually felt like spring. I heard a passel (which is less than a flock, maybe 4-5) of blue jays squawking in the bare lilac tree, occasionally dropping into the bird feeder to grab a bite. They were making a particular noise I hadn’t heard before and were bobbing their heads as they did it. I wondered whether it was a mating ritual or a spring celebration. May-day, avian version. I couldn’t really nail it down through google in the time I had so I just enjoyed the racket. A sign of spring is a sign of spring. Even the smell of the dog poop that perfumes the spring air, is nothing to sniff at, in my opinion. Oh, wait… My point is not even that can make me hate spring. It’s renewal, and renewal in nature requires a process akin to composting. Composting can be smelly, but it’s necessary. Same thing, kind of. The earth and all its components, including dog poop, is going through a long, somewhat smelly drying process in the next few weeks, culminating with the spring planting, once the earth has dried enough. People complain about spring, because of the mess and the smells, but as long as I have my ‘billy boots’, the wet can’t bother me, and the rest is all short term pain for long term gain.
The winter’s been long enough, on with spring!
I’m posting a Youtube recording of Mozart’s 23rd piano concerto, by unnamed musicians. It seems very spring-like to me. Enjoy!
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