Thurs. March 23, 2023: Blooms in Mud Season

image courtesy of PublicDomainPictures via pixabay.com

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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Thurs. Nov. 21, 2019: The Weather Is Not Cooperating

Thursday, November 21, 2019
Waning Moon, 4th quarter in Virgo
Neptune Retrograde
Uranus Retrograde
Celtic Tree Month of Reed
Partly sunny and cold

The weather is not cooperating.

We took 10 30-gallon bags of leaves to the dump late last week. We’ve only filled about 3 or 4 more, mostly because it’s either been too windy to rake, or it’s been raining. That cold, damp, chilling rain that stings when it hits your skin and makes you cold to the bone.

I managed to scrub down the inside of the deck over the weekend. There is no mold. It was all dirt from being blown around in the yard, or from the plants. I dry brushed, then used Murphy’s oil soap. It downright gleams now.

Some boards in the deck do need replacement, as do the stairs, but they don’t have to do the whole thing.

The guy who was supposed to come and look at the deck and the back of the house (which was never painted eight years ago when the front of the house was done) never showed up on Monday. I’m sure it was because of the rain, but still, someone should have let us know. I rearranged my work day so I’d be here.

I’m tired of losing billable hours due to unreliable workmen.

It’s rained all week so far. This is the first day it’s drying out.

As soon as it’s dry enough, I’ll be raking again. We’re supposed to get snow at some point this weekend. I’m just going to rake any day it’s dry enough so to do. Every day a bit, and eventually, it all gets done.

Because the front is what’s most seen, that’s what gets the most attention, but, eventually, I’ll get the side, the back, and the meadow done as well.

Much of it depends on how soon the snow comes in, how much it is, and how long it covers the ground.

The beds are tucked in with leaves, so they will have a good winter. It’s always good to use leaves on the beds. They mulch down nicely, and then the soil is in good shape in the spring. Clean-up’s a bit messy, but the plants like it, and it’s worth it in the long run.

I can’t believe next week is Thanksgiving. Which means, shortly thereafter, that the Winter Holiday decorating begins. I decorate outside as well as in, so I’m sure there will be something to say.

The Thanksgiving cacti are in bloom, and look beautiful. The photos at the top and bottom of this post are those plants.

I won’t post on Thanksgiving, but I’ll be back the following week to talk about how I’m doing with my holiday greens!