Spring Trio

Day 164: Ah, the colour is starting to appear in my yard! The morning flower beds are full of daffodils still in bud, but where the noonday sun falls out front, a handful of yellow trumpets are nodding in the rain. A handful of crocuses have survived the years of deer and raccoon predation, although I might have to amend that claim after Bambi's late-night visit. The grape hyacinths took me by surprise. I had not noticed them budding while I pulled an inexcusably thick layer of chickweed nearby, too intent on my task, I suppose, to be distracted by their little pointy hats. Is it any wonder that we think of traditional Easter colours as yellow and purple? Winter is losing its grip and my gardens are rejoicing.

Spring Triptych

Day 151: And here was me, thinking the ungulates, raccoons and moles had polished off all my crocuses! Somewhere deep down, four bulblets seem to have survived the predation. Okay, one of them came up way over there, about six feet from anywhere I'd ever planted any. That's one I can definitely pin to mole activity. The other three are more or less in a cluster. The snowdrops I lifted (in two senses of the word) from an abandoned road in Pack Forest a few years ago are doing just fine. They're a long way from being a "drift," but they're multiplying at a pleasing rate. A lot of things have gone missing from my flower beds, devoured by elk or deer. They don't bother the daffodils, and perhaps it's the daffs' proximity to the hostas which has so far kept them safe, but the critters around here are so brazen that they'll walk right up under the windows to graze.