Thurs. April 8, 2021: A Hint of Spring

image courtesy of Capri23autho via pixabay.com

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Fourth Quarter Waning Moon in Pisces

Celtic Tree Month of Alder

Cloudy and mild

There are finally signs of spring. The potted forsythia in the garage is blooming, and I’ll move it out on the deck soon. But even the in-ground forsythia are shyly starting to show yellow buds.

I love forsythia. They’re such a cheerful plant, and to me, mean spring. It makes me feel cheerful and hopeful, something I desperately need right now.

I have some daffodils in vases – not ones from the house, ones I bought. They’re lovely.

The hyacinths I planted out front about eight years ago bloomed. Another spring favorite.

We had a smattering of snow into Saturday morning. Woke up with it on the roof and the roof of the deck. Barely saw it on the ground; if I hadn’t looked out of the window early enough, I wouldn’t have seen it.

The bunnies survived the winter, living under the deck. We saw them last night, coming out for their supper. We love our bunnies. We’ve lost so much wildlife in the neighborhood, due to people cutting down their trees and overbuilding. Fewer birds, too, although a fresh robin watched me pull out of the driveway yesterday, and I can hear the mourning doves when I wake up.

We still don’t know where we will move, and I haven’t done any planting. I will be so sad if I don’t have any garden this year. The stress of not knowing where we will end up is taking a bad toll.

But I am trying to enjoy each moment still here, and I’m trying to stay optimistic that we will end up in the right place.

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Birdbath and Bugs

Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Dark Moon, 4th Quarter Aries
Celtic Tree Month of Willow
Cloudy and cool

I finally found a birdbath I like, and I have happy birds splashing around in the yard. I figure I’ll clean it once or twice a week, but it’s now included in my daily morning stroll around the yard, connecting with the property and seeing what needs to be done.

The morning glories died — I think I put them out on the deck too soon. I’ll have to plant some more today.

Inside, I’m having trouble with those little cream colored bugs, infesting all sorts of my plants. They are especially aggressive with the eggplant, cucumber, lemon, calendula, and cyclamen. I have to de-bug these plants leaf-by-leaf. They haven’t been too successful with the tomatoes yet, but this is war. The stuff I bought at the garden center doesn’t work; ivory snow soap and water doesn’t work. I’m picking them off by hand, leaf by leaf, and washing the plants down, but I’ll have to dig into garden books and find something herbal that will kick ass. I also need more marigolds, especially to protect my tomatoes.

The tomatoes are getting moved to the “big girl” pots today, as are the bok choy, the cucumbers, and the peppers. It’s still too early to put them in the ground or even on the deck. But I’ll also start some other seeds, since it is a planting day.

Astrologically, I should wait until Friday to plant anything that appears above-ground, but I probably won’t. I have more lemon seeds, gala apple seeds, and jalapeno seeds harvested from bought produce to try, and I want to get some of the flowers going, too.

The lamb’s ears in the terraced bed haven’t reappeared this year, but some invited themselves into the front lawn, so I’m going to dig them up and move them before mowing the front this morning. I mowed the terraced back area a few days ago, and then used the trimmers (I have hand edgers, not gas-powered) around some of the edges and yanked dandelions. I like the violets and johnny-jump-ups that pattern in the yard, and while I appreciate the dandelions, there are too many of them, and I’d rather they stayed in their own area.

It’s supposed to rain later this morning, and then rain off and on for the next few days, so I’ll be limited in what I can do. I hope to get started on mowing the meadow over the weekend, and maybe clearing out some more stuff at the property’s edges. I’d like to get some grass seed in a few places, before the rain starts.

In other words, I must adapt my day to the weather, not do things when I can fit them into my schedule!

Devon