But first...

Digging out the compost pile was on my to-do list for this spring. Sifting the existing compost from the rest of the detritis required the use of my yellow Vigoro garden cart... which had four flat tires, one of which was also shredding. I purchased a new tire, but could not figure out how to get the old one off (despite viewing several YT videos). No matter - I just filled all four with air (using my scary air compressor). The compost sifter also needed some repair. Finally, I completed the original to-do item, followed by spreading a shovelful of compost around each shrub.

Black (or brown) gold

I decided to take a look at my goals for this year, to see how I'm doing. Not bad so far. Ten coneflowers ('Sombrero Hot Coral') went into the bed by the sidewalk, and while I have planted the strawberries ('Evie-2') and garlic ('Early Italian'), the temperatures need to be a bit better before starting the green beans (there is a lined milk crate planter ready to receive them). The number of garlic cloves were more than the raised bed could handle, so the extras went into some containers; we'll see how that works out.

Fencing is to discourage Finn from treating this bed like a litter box

While not on the list, some dill seed ('Mammoth') was strewn around the spicebush, hopefully to attract swallowtail butterflies. And there is a pot ready for a tomato plant ('Sun Sugar') I purchased on impulse at Menards. The citrus plants at Tractor Supply tempted me, but I've been complaining about having too many houseplants, so I refrained.

This is the spring for flowering trees. I can't get enough of them (except for the Bradford pears).

'Perfect Purple' flowering crab, neighbor's flowering pear in the background

Redbud

'Prairie Fire' flower crab blossoms

One advantage of aging is one stops worrying so much about what other people think. An exception is my serviceberry specimens. They bloom at the same time as Bradford pear trees, but I hope no one thinks I actually planted the latter.

Around the yard:

Oak gall on witch hazel?

Milkweed!

We had some gale-force winds this past week. One day, a particularly athletic and daring squirrel took advantage of the wind to leap from the privacy fence to the sunflower feeder. Rather bodacious of him, if I do say so myself.

Spring color

Last year I called my lawncare guy and told him, "I miss my clover" (said no one ever). We eliminated weed control from the program, and I now spot treat the random dandelion, mulberry, and nutsedge that crops up. A little clover is coming back with no help from me.

I would also like to see drifts of snow drops and other early bloomers in the lawn, which led me to this posting by the Laidback Gardener. In brief, he recommends very early bulbs that will be done by the first mow. I can probably fudge that limitation, since I mow high, at least 4".

• Bulbocodium (Bulbocodium vernum) (While listed as a spring bloomer, it actually blooms in summer; also, poisonous.)
• Crocus* (Crocus spp.) (I would limit these to early crocus like Crocus tommassinianus)
• Glory of the snow (Chionodoxa spp.)
• Narcissi (early varieties) (Narcissus spp.) (Too tall and not early enough around here, me thinks)
• Puschkinia (Puschkinia scilloides) (a.k.a. striped squill)
• Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)
• Spring snowflake (Leucojum vernum) (tolerates boggy sites and pond edges)
• Squill (Scilla spp.)
• Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)

For me, I think tommies, glory of the snow, puschkinia, snowdrop, spring snowflake, squill, and winter aconite will do nicely in the lawn.

About the only spring bulbs I have left in my yard post-native install are crocus, daffodil, and grape hyacinth (plus one lonely purple hyacinth of unknown origin and a tulip that must be 30+ years old). When I walk the dog through a nearby neighborhood, though, I see beds full of pink hyacinth, which look delightful. My daughter has lots of what I think of as Narcissus in her beds, more delicate than my daffs. Even though none of these bloomers are considered native, I still love seeing all that early color. We'll see if my excitement carries over to fall planting.

Meanwhile, the serviceberry shrubs in the backyard have popped, while their tree-form cousins in the front yard are lagging behind. Today I saw a pair of cowbirds a-courtin' in a redbud which is also starting to bloom, a bit early.

While listening to something on NPR the other day, a glacier expert commented that "climate change" should be renamed "climate weirdness". That pretty much sums it up, as we had more hail this past week, followed by an 80-degree day yesterday. Today it is just windy, too windy to enjoy the yard. Even the dog wants to stay inside.

I'd rather mow than vacuum

Once upon a time, I could spend a whole day out in the yard, doing this, that, and the other. Now, after an hour or two, I'm done. But mowing takes little energy - I have a zero-turn riding mower - so I leave it for the end of the day, when I'm too tired to do much else.

Yesterday's hour or two was spent creating a little trench to help manage the wet area of the yard. The digging was easier than I expected, as what I was scooping up was basically composted mulch. I added that to the raised bed. Now I would like some stone to fill in the trench.

The raised bed is full. There is a layer of yard debris on the bottom, topped with four bags of "raised bed and garden soil". On top of that is some spent potting soil from containers I found in the shed. Then came the composted mulch and four more bags of bagged soil. I'm waiting for those layers to settle before planting anything in the bed.

This is the bagged soil I used:

And this is why I chose this particular brand: no peat. The peat would make a lighter mix, but it decomposes over time. I wanted a fill that was basically dirt but better dirt than my heavy clay.

My order from Burpee arrived: strawberry plants, garlic, and echinacea. The latter is on the deck, soaking up water and hardening off. The strawberries plants and garlic are in the refrigerator, awaiting that settling I mentioned above. I'm not sure how well the strawberries will do in such a tall raised bed. Specifically, I'm worried how the plants will winter over that far from the ground. But I guess that is what a winter mulch of straw is for.

Today's activity was spraying weeds, mostly Creeping Charlie; there is a crazy amount of it in the yard this year. I also attacked the yucca that won't die and the random mulberry trees that pop up endlessly.

I didn't spray all the Creeping Charlie, as it is one of the few early plants that pollinators appear to depend on. Which got me wondering about what else I could provide as an early source of nectar. An online search led me to Tag Alder, something I had never heard of, a shrub that likes it wet. I was thinking I could plant one by (or in) the rain garden... but it has a suckering habit, which means it would spread. Not sure I want to go there.

Hail yeah!

We are having all kinds of whacky weather these days: hail, thunderstorms, lots and lots of rain. The rain garden is currently a water feature - very full. That end of the yard is rather soggy as well. I have plans to remedy the latter.

I have a mason bee nesting box that has never hosted a mason bee. But perhaps this paper wasp nest is fulfilling that job? If I keep an eye on it, maybe I will see what emerges from those plugged cells.

It's going to be a busy week here at Woodchuck Acres, starting with the installation of a new furnace and AC tomorrow. The joys of homeownership are overrated, in my opinion - eventually stuff wears out and needs to be replaced - but I do like having a yard to play in.