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.