Thurs. March 23, 2023: Blooms in Mud Season

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Thursday, March 23, 2023

First quarter waxing moon in Aries

Celtic Tree Month of Alder

Cloudy and chilly; looks and feels like rain

I SHOULD have planted this past Monday, on the Equinox. I did not. The next planting day is tomorrow, and I better get my act together. There are also more seeds I need to get, and some where I’ve missed the planting window.

Some of the hyacinths on the front porch are starting to bloom. On sunny days, it’s warm enough in the afternoon to be out there for a few hours. I take the laptop and work out there. It’s lovely. The tulips are coming up, but haven’t bloomed yet, and the dwarf narcissus are still confused.

Inside, the Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti are blooming again, though!

As I mentioned last week (somewhere, if not on this blog), we’re moving into mud season. The snowpacks are shrinking, and things are muddy. Necessary for the rest of spring and summer growth, but still needing boots in which to tromp around.

The birds are chattering and negotiating where to nest.

The temperatures are still in the twenties and the thirties at night, but up in the high forties and even kissing fifty on some of the sunnier days.

I need to do some repotting, too. I need to inventory the pots I have. Some of the ones in which I invested were poor choices. Others were good, and I want to get more like them.

It’s still too cold to start putting the furniture, et al, down on the back balcony, but I hope we can do that by early April. I might be overly optimistic!

I hope the temperatures steady out in the 40s soon, because I have some painting to do out there, and I can’t do it until the temperatures remain at least in the mid-40s.

How are things, plant-wise, in your neck of the woods?

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Wed. March 17, 2022: More planting, more seedlings

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Thursday, March 17, 2022

Second Quarter Moon Waxing in Scorpio

Cloudy and mild

Celtic Tree Month of Ash

After a beautiful day last Friday, we had yet another snowstorm on Saturday, which dumped heavy, wet snow on the area. And then the temperature has rocketed up again. It was 61 degrees F yesterday afternoon. Most of the snow is melted; there are some small patches, in places that were plowed into mounds.

I’d picked up more pots and more potting soil, and used them quickly, for the cherry tomatoes and mini cucumbers. I need to get some more pots and potting soil for the rest of the plants. I don’t know when we’ll get back to storage to get the pots we’ve still got there (and there may not be enough). I didn’t want to buy too many, but too few doesn’t work, either. And I always, always underestimate how much soil I need.

Charlotte and Willa have nearly decimated the first pot of cat grass, so I planted a second pot. I will alternate the two, so they always have cat grass (which means I need to buy more seeds). The second pot has already started to grow.

The lemon balm hasn’t yet sprouted, but a few shoots of the black-eyed Susan vine are cautiously putting their heads out. The echinacea is doing well. The heliotrope and columbine remain tiny shoots.

I’m still waiting for the tansy seeds, which should have arrived on Tuesday, but seem to be going around in circles between Springfield and here. Usually, once something hits Springfield, it gets here fast.

The sweet pea and mallow seeds arrived much more quickly than I expected; I hope to get more pots and soil soon, and then I can plant them.

The peace lily is, once again, outgrowing her pot. This plant is a bit of a drama queen anyway, but is getting crowded. To think, I bought it for $3.98 in a 4-inch pot back in January of 2011! And it’s spilling out of an 11 ½ inch pot now.

Some of the Christmas cacti are blooming. They’re always a bit confused, and tend to bloom year-round, taking turns.

The birds are very busy on the back balcony, sorting out who will live in which house, and on the nest under an eave. There was a cardinal in one of the trees the other morning, and the crows living in the tall evergreen out back are very busy, morning and night. The scout crows check in every morning, and when I run errands on foot, I generally have a running commentary from the crows as I head there and back. They have an absolute fit if I step off a curb and there’s a car within 100 feet of me, as though I’m not bright enough to avoid getting hit. I do appreciate the warnings, though.

Because the screened-in front porch faces south, it generally warms up quickly when there’s sun, so we put out the seedlings in the late morning, and then take them back in before supper.

I hope this is the last of the snow. Much as I love living in a place with seasons, I’m ready for the snow to be over. Granted, that means we’re in for mud season, but that’s what boots are for. And I love the way it smells as the seasons change.

The time change, as usual, has thrown me off. I’m great when we fall back; I’m disoriented for a few weeks when we spring forward.

A new combination of plant center and art gallery will open on Main Street soon, within walking distance. I’m very excited to spend time there. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot. And buy too many plants!

It’s lovely to watch the mountains, out back and out front, change with the seasons.

What’s changing in your neck of the woods?