Weather whiplash

That is what "they" are calling the weather this spring - whiplash. Some days the high and low temps vary by as much as 30 or 40 degrees. I find it difficult to figure out what to wear. Today it is a pair of shorts and a tee.

Crocus of some kind

I saw an article about the "March mehs". Apparently, some people find the interim between winter and summer tedious and blah. Maybe these people have no yards and/or live where there is very little green space. Seeing the spring bulbs emerge despite a brutally cold winter gives me hope that everything will be okay. In fact, the flowers seem particularly joyful this year.

First daffs

While wandering around the house the other day, I found a plastic flap on the ground. It must have broken off the exhaust fan housing during one of the extremely windy days we have experienced. Fortunately, my daughter is in the remodeling biz and sent over a contractor to take care of that (and several other little jobs around the house).

Yes, I know the siding needs to be cleaned

Fall cleanup continues. The north and south sides of the house are now (relatively) tidy. All that remains is the backyard. Cataract surgery is not holding me back - one more eye to go.

Happy Pi Day

A few times I have actually baked a pie on Pi Day, but not this year. I've just been stupid busy. Plus I don't really need pie.

The grass keeps getting greener, a few early bulbs have popped up, and the weather is its usual crazy with some in-like-a-lion winds. Tomorrow the low will be 37 degrees, the high 67. I'm wondering when I can uncover the strawberry plants.

Crocus tommassinianus 'Roseus'

In completely unrelated news, I fell. Again. And once again, it was due to a dog. No trip to the ER this time, since my injuries were limited to some bruises and scrapes and a fat lip. I've thought of making a collage from the photos of all my falls over the years and titling it "Me v. Gravity".

And speaking of the dog, Clio has a growth on her eyelid that the vet has insisted is cosmetic. Lately it has been bothering her, which causes her to rub her eye, then lick her paw. The licking is vigorous enough that she now has a sore on her leg. So he is going to remove the growth in a couple of weeks.

But first. I am having cataract surgery. Almost everyone I know who has had it done is pleased with the outcome. There are a few disgruntled folks who complain about having to use reading glasses, which I will need to do as well. And I'm okay with that.

The doc says I won't have any limitations on activity afterwards, so fall cleanup will continue while I itch to do some fun yardwork, like installing new plants, which I have yet to order. Like I said, stupid busy.

Spring has sprung

I no longer have forsythia in my yard, but I've noticed it elsewhere in town; ditto magnolias. The usual spring bulbs are on display in my beds, which always leads me to wanting more, especially drifts of snowdrops in the lawn. However, by the time fall rolls around, my garden energy is flagging. Now I have an auger to attach to a drill, the easier to create holes in my heavy clay soil, so maybe I will follow through on that desire come autumn.

The "fall cleanup" is almost done - just the north side of the house left to tackle. The removal of plant debris has revealed some mulberry and yucca that cry for eradication, so that is on the to-do list. The earlier one attacks the undesirables, the better.

The reception for my oldest brother's wedding this weekend was at a country club where the golf course is currently undergoing a major renovation, including the removal of many trees. Boo! Their goal is to return the course to its former (treeless) state. If they want to *really* get back to their roots, IMHO they should play golf in an overgrown pasture, complete with cows. Right?

Mulch volcano or donut?

One sure sign of spring is the proliferation of mulch, especially on commercial properties. Mulch is good for keeping down weeds, BUT. All too often the mulch is piled up around a tree like a volcano.

BAD!

Mulch should be applied like a donut or lifesaver. The point is to leave the trunk flare exposed. One would think the landscaping companies would know better - or maybe they do, but don't want to take the time to be careful.

GOOD!

Even the landscaping company that redid my yard made this mistake (along with a few others). I rectified the situation myself. For more information, go here. The tree you save may be your own.

(Another mistake the landscaping company made was to apply mulch under the Japanese maple and 'Limelight' hydrangea. Both have shallow roots that need to breathe. I *told* them not to mulch under those two, but did they listen? NOOOOOO.)

Other signs of spring:

Crocus

Witch hazel

Daffodils

Yesterday was *gorgeous*. Since we were facing two days of rain, I tackled the fall cleanup. I don't get on the north side of the house much in winter, so was surprised to see the goldenrod still relatively intact. Something, probably a rabbit, chewed on the asters I planted in this bed; I hope they survive (the asters, not the rabbits).

Goldenrod (before cleanup)

I am SO glad I had the landscaping redone in my yard. The cleanup took just a few hours instead of days. Some nasty weeds are already staking a claim, though, so that is the next yardening task on my to-do list.

Rough trip

A week ago we visited the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area to view the sandhill cranes. There were plenty of cranes, but no dancing, not even much feeding going on. They just stood or sat there. Maybe it was naptime or something. If you want to watch a video of their dancing, check this one out.

My son and his girl friend were supposed to meet up with us there, but they spent most of the day in the ER (all is okay). Then the restaurant we wanted to eat at is closed on Mondays. At least the rest of our plans panned out: a visit to the Chesterton Art Center and coffee at the Red Cup, where my son and girl friend caught up with us. So not quite what we planned but an okay day.

On the homefront, I saw a mute swan fly overhead on Sunday, probably heading for Eagle Marsh. I heard it before I saw it: the wingbeats "sing". Check out this short vid for a sample.

In my own front yard, signs of spring: Crocus tommassinianus 'roseus'. The snowdrops are popping up, as well as some regular croci. It's hard to not get one's hopes up for an early spring.

Friday Clio has a "temperament check" with a local doggy daycare. She will be so excited. Meanwhile, Finn, my 13(?) year old cat has been diagnosed with stage 2 kidney disease. I had noticed excessive drinking and peeing lately. Once I determined that it was him and not Beau, off we went to the vet. All we can do right now is feed him a special prescription food, which fortunately he likes and Beau does not. Otherwise, Finn seems fine. I hope he sticks around for a while.

Bugs, buds, and blossoms

I've seen a swarm or two of gnats this past week, but today I spotted this fellow feeding on the witch hazel blossoms. Some kind of bee, I guess. Honey?

Bee on witch hazel

Meanwhile, buds are starting to swell here and there around the yard.

Serviceberry

Chokeberry

Elm

Hawthorn

Ragwort

I didn't get a good photo of the snowdrops, but the "regular" croci are blooming as well as the daffodils (which look a little raggedy, due to the fluctuating weather).


So much for outside. Inside, I finally got around to starting the zinnias from seed. But first, I made some pots from newspaper, as described in this video.


Mine are not as refined as the ones in the video, but they will work.

Today I finished de-branching the arborvitae, so that task is finished. Now I am waiting on an estimate for the rain garden, because of this repeat performance:

I hope the rain garden helps.

More yardening, despite the snow

Last Wednesday, two separate people told me we were getting a foot of snow on Friday. I don't know where they get their information, but my weather app predicted a few inches, and what we got was even less than that, after a lot of rain. Today is sunny and warm, so I worked on cutting down grasses on the south side of the house. Yeah, I do my fall clean-up in March.

I purchased this mason bee house several years ago (2008?) but kept forgetting to put it up. Something must have jogged my memory this year, as it is now hanging on the southeast corner of the shed. For more information on these super-duper pollinators, watch this YouTube video.

The Tommies (Crocus tommassinianus 'Roseus') are up, and I put the macro function on my phone camera to use documenting their existance before they disappeared. Rabbits probably snacked on the blossoms, as they are no longer to be seen.

I think I saw a redwing blackbird at the feeders the other day. They don't visit often but do make an appearance in the spring. Besides the usual fox squirrels, this black one (from a melanistic subgroup) showed up. Today, the dogs are keeping all rodents at bay, as I kicked them out to enjoy the sunshine before we receive more rain tomorrow.

My SO and I went to the Home and Garden Show last Thursday. It was unusually busy for a weekday, probably because of that snowy forecast. I purchased two pieces of yard art, which I will show you once they are installed. I also spoke with a solar salesman, as I'm thinking that may be a better solution than a backup generator in case we lose power, say after a storm. What say ye?

The trials of March

"Sheltering in place" does not mean one cannot go out in the yard and work on spring clean up chores. The front yard looks relatively tidy, so I've been concentrating on the backyard. If I lived in the country, I would just do a controlled burn to get rid of all the dead plant material, but alas, I am a suburbanite and must abide by local laws.

The dogs have been inordinately interested in the garden shed and now I know why: something (I'm guessing a woodchuck, hence the name of this blog) has managed to breech the hardware cloth barrier I oh-so-carefully-but-apparently-not-carefully-enough skirted the shed with last fall. Some of this damage may have been inflicted by the dogs, though. There are days when I wonder why-oh-why did I adopt these knuckleheads?

My SO suggested we cut up some plastic trellis and use that instead of the hardware cloth. I agreed but have this sinking feeling that an animal that can chew through hardware cloth will have no trouble with plastic.

While a construction crew toils away resolving the neighborhood-wide drainage issue (getting us high and dry must be an essential service), I have drainage issues in my own backyard. The clay soil does not help. Yesterday the ground wasn't too bad, but of course today it is raining AGAIN.

I like to get a pic of the few remaining crocus blooms before rabbits eat them. The snowdrops and snow crocus are already gone, and it occurred to me that perhaps they *have* bloomed before this year, but I didn't notice because they haven't created clumps yet, so come and go without much fanfare.

Last summer I thought I had eradicated the cocklebur, but apparently not. The dogs come in with these things stuck to their collars, then they stick to whatever I am wearing, like Velcro.

I looked through previous March blog posts, to see if this year is different, but no. March is the limbo between winter and spring. Last year my hip was a good excuse for not keeping up. This year, thankfully, that is not a problem anymore. Time to get crackin' - if it ever stops raining.

Something new

Yard and garden cleanup continues, but this week with a surprise. In fall of 2017, I planted some pink snow crocus (Crocus tommassinianus 'Roseus') and early snowdrops (Galanthus woronowii). (I wouldn't know that but for this blog entry.) I don't think they bloomed at all... UNTIL NOW!

I had given up on them. Oh, ye of little faith.

I hope they spread far and wide in my front yard.

And then I dreamed that the regular crocus had bloomed as well. I checked yesterday, but it was just a dream.

Meanwhile, the ornamental grasses in the front are gone, as are many dead flower stalks in the back. The grass is turning green s-l-o-w-l-y. Buds on shrubs and trees are starting to swell. The vultures are returning from wherever they spend winter. It won't be long now.

April showers and a few flowers

My SO and I were in Kansas City last week, where we thought there might be some signs of spring. No such luck, except for a magnolia. On our way out of town, I spotted some daffodils and forsythia. A winter weather advisory for the region was on our heels.

Not much blooming at home, either. The earliest clump of daffs are showing but the rest are lagging behind. The pink hyacinth are also blooming. I gave up on crocus because of rabbits but they keep trying to make an appearance, along with something I don't know the name of.

While surveying the yard, I discovered the bark is peeling off my 'Winter King' hawthorn tree. Yikes! But some research reveals that this is normal, part of the tree's winter interest. Whew!

The seedlings (that I planted WAY too early - most are large enough for transplanting) survived my absence although it looks like a certain someone did not water them. Right before I left, a few items arrived from Gurney's and Breck's: one 'Prairie Fire' crabapple tree, two red penstemon crowns, and three 'Lucifer' crocosmia corms. I was a little worried about the crabapple, as it needed to get in the ground before it broke dormancy, but I had no choice but to wait. I planted it yesterday, and one branch bud looked ready to pop, so I hope it does okay. It's getting plenty of water today.

Good-bye February!

My annual complaint, that February is the longest month of the year, is about to be stashed until next winter. I find myself thinking the worst is over, but it really isn't, despite the bulbs popping up here and there. March usually brings one more snowfall.

Naturalizing Daffodils

Yesterday I did some more yardening, pruning back the hydrangea, cleaning out this and that. I tend to work on particular plants, like the catmint and milkweed, instead of beds. There is more to do, of course, but it doesn't hurt to get a head start.

Pink Hyacinth

I did find a pair of hand pruners that disappeared last year, far from the area I thought they would be, oddly close to where my SO found his missing Fitbit. I'm also rediscovering my gardening muscles. All that winter walking does not help with the bending, stretching, lifting.

Pink Snow Crocus

Inside, most of the seedlings have germinated, even the 'Luna Red' Hibiscus! A germination heating pad helps. Right now, the only holdouts are the Japanese indigo (dyers knotweed) and the parsley.

Early Snow Drops

I ordered an electric fence to limit the dogs free space. I also bought them passes to the city dog parks. We went to Camp Canine at Johnny Appleseed Park yesterday, and they zoomed to their hearts content before my SO and I took them for a walk along the River Greenway behind IPFW. Today they are still tired.

Robin's nest from last summer

This morning's rain has given way to a little sun, so maybe I will venture outside again, before the rains return. Happy yard cleanup!

Warm enough for tomatoes

Not only is it in the 70s today, the nights are above 50 degrees, my trigger point for transplanting tomatoes. Of course, I don't expect it to stay this way. Also, I have not even *started* my tomato plants yet.

A few flowers are responding to the sunshine and warm temps.

I'm first - I win!

The first of the daffodils are growing where I plan to locate a cold frame - and now you know why.

And in second place...

My SO helped me start filling the raised beds, where square foot gardening meets lasagna gardening. Sometimes I am a stickler for rules, but not in the garden. So instead of mixing together 1/3 peat, 1/3 of 5 different types of compost, and 1/3 vermiculite, we just layered the materials into the beds. For one thing, using that much vermiculite was going to be prohibitively expensive. For another, I think vegetables should be grown in the ground, even if that ground is raised, so I am including some garden soil - the clay will help retain moisture. Also, Home Depot had only two kinds of compost and I did not feel like driving around looking for more.

Peaty

So far, the layers are: homemade compost, wood ashes, leaves, newspaper, peat, mushroom compost, peat, composted manure, peat. Then I added more leaves yesterday, to keep the peat from blowing away. The beds seem "peat heavy" right now, because 3 cu. ft. of baled peat fluffs quite a bit when released from its packaging. But I anticipate adding no more peat to each bed. Instead, as these layers settle and become food for worms, more layers will be added, of grass clippings, leaves, manure, and homemade compost. That should do it - in theory, at least.

More fill!

We filled four of the eight beds. Hopefully, this weekend we will do four more. Then, at some point, I will need to mix up batches for the potato grow bags, sooner for the Irish potatoes and later for the sweet potatoes.

Speaking of sweet potatoes, my attempt to grow slips is a big FAIL so far. I am trying again, with a less wizened-looking potato this time. Also, I moved them out from under the grow lights. Does light hinder root development? Must research.