Dear Husband invited me out for a walk today. This is the first one of the season. I was delighted to see that the honeysuckle has begun to leaf out, and it won't be long before the forsythia bursts into bloom.
We live in the Chicago suburbs, and it takes a while for the spring warmth to build up. Our average last frost date is May 15th, so we wait until then to plant tomatoes and basil, and the more tender plants.
As we neared home, I discovered that the chipmunks had harvested some of the crocus from the sidewalk at the garden, and had naturalized them through the shrubby area at the side of the path. Those surprise blooms are always a joy, even if it means that they'd been stolen.
We saw a new squirrel's nest in the outer branches of a tree that overhang the path. I'll have to find a way to get my mother out onto the path, because she'd enjoy seeing the nest.
I noticed that some of the iris have heaved out of the ground over the winter. You can see some of the roots. Tomorrow morning I plan to add compost around them, to try to settle them in. I have a rose to prune back, too. There are two bales of straw that I want to spread over the fern bed, and around the bank of day lilies along the south side of the house. It's supposed to be cool but sunny, and I'm looking forward to a morning outside.
This week I need to shop for another pair of walking shoes. I have one pair I use for exercise, but I don't want to track chat from the path onto the exercise floor. I'm going to try to find something that I can dedicate to outdoor walking. And, Dear Husband is going to pump up the tires on our bikes, so that we can ride on bad foot days.
I feel rather like a bear that has just woken up from a long winter's hibernation!
Comments (5)
Sounds like your irises are at about the right depth--if you lived here!
Isn't tracking the little pieces of silica in to lacerate the floors a joy? HH never knows that they are there, so I always pretend to think that all of the sand came in on HIS shoes!
Thanks for having the "Recent Comments" added. It is a real convenience.
Posted by Cop Car | April 2, 2005 6:21 PM
Posted on April 2, 2005 18:21
Dear Husband is the same way, CC. Because he works construction, a little dirt on his boots doesn't bother him. I don't mind either, until he walks all the way through the house leaving a mess as he goes. Next time HE can clean the carpets!
The iris a just a bit deeper now, and I'm going to add just a little more compost to heel them in.
Thanks go to T, who is my host at RedEagleSpirit for adding the recent comments to the sidebar!
Posted by Buffy | April 4, 2005 4:17 PM
Posted on April 4, 2005 16:17
Yes, if your DH cleans the carpeting, he might tend to be more careful with his shoes. (I'm surprised that he doesn't doff them in the garage before coming into the house, but not everyone really cares to do that sort of thing. We have indoor/outdoor carpeting on the six steps from the garage up into the mud room, and a runner in the mud room so IF we come in through the garage, our shoes--and cat paws--get fairly well cleaned before we get to the vinyl.) If I'm gardening, I shuck my shoes in the garage or on the back porch, whichever way I'm coming in.
I maintain cleanliness in the vinyl and ceramic tile areas, but HH does the carpeting. He is vigilant about getting spots up quickly and the vacuum is strong enough that it pulls up the sand so I don't worry about the carpeting much. Cuts in the vinyl are noticeable, though.
Posted by Cop Car | April 5, 2005 9:36 AM
Posted on April 5, 2005 09:36
P.S. I noted, yesterday, that the Oklahoma red buds (the darker purple blossomers) are in bloom now--fully two weeks ahead of schedule. The red buds that I brought from the other house as sapplings are the medium purple blossomers, and they aren't yet blooming. It was so warm yesterday that the house was still at 78 degrees this morning--even with my bedroom window open.
Posted by Cop Car | April 5, 2005 9:40 AM
Posted on April 5, 2005 09:40
We're just coming up on bloom time for forsythia. The trees shouldn't be too much further behind. We tend to get a warm spell when the Ice Follies daffodils have opened, and then it cools off again. Mother Nature seems to be true to form this year.
Posted by buffy | April 6, 2005 12:01 PM
Posted on April 6, 2005 12:01