Stupid Weather

Last Monday I broke down and mowed the front yard (wearing shorts). That application of Turf Builder really greened things up, and the grass was so lush, I left footprints. I'm glad I mowed, as it was longer than I thought. The lawn looked great, especially after it snowed.

The weather post-Monday has been utterly rude. This is my sad little deck, looking decidedly unspringlike.



After the first night of 20-degree temps, the daffodils looked really sad in the morning, but by afternoon had perked up. After the second night below freezing, they again looked limp and bedraggled, but again recovered later in the day. But after the third and fourth and fifth night, plus the snow, they laid down and did not rise again.



A warming trend is predicted for this week, so we shall see if they resurrect (Easter pun - ha!) themselves once more.



I think the forsythia is done, though, as is my neighbors magnolia.



The weather did not deter these three love birds ducks, though. Look closely: female mallard in the leaf-covered garden, one male in left foreground, another male on right, behind the fence. (Note the nearly strawberryless strawberry pyramid. That's a story for another day.)



When I first spotted the female, I thought, "Oh, no, she's not planning on building a nest in the kitchen garden, is she? I haven't even tilled yet!" Then I saw two males on the other side of the chain link, wondering how to get to their lovely lady. When I returned to the window with my camera, one of the males figured it out and flew over the fence, but the female apparently favored Dumbo and in about ten seconds took off in a huff, both suitors in hot pursuit.

Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks

Weather forecasters get paid to be wrong, and today I was glad for it, as we enjoyed a sunny, if windy, day. Some neighbors actually mowed, but that seemed a bit extreme, so I limited my activities to picking up sticks (three bags full). This job also entailed the start of the dismantling of the brush pile. Just too attractive to the bunnies.

More plants are presenting evidence they survived the winter. Here is the old-fashioned bleeding heart (not sure what makes it "old-fashioned")...



... and one of many hostas on the north side of the garage where it is still soggy...



... and one of three peonies on the south side of the house.



The hyacinth is actually blooming. Last fall I planted more white hyacinth in front of the barberry bushes, thinking the contrast would be pretty. Hopefully, those hyacinth will hold off blooming until the barberry has leafed out a bit.



Two falls ago, when my daughter and I planted the daffodil bulbs, I added an English bluebell bulb to some of the holes, then promptly forgot that I had done this. Last year there were no bluebell blooms, but I did notice the greenery around the feet of some of the daffodils. The greenery looks even stronger this year, so maybe there will be some blooms as well.



And what would an Indiana garden be without Canada thistle?