Noon Walkabout - April 5th

 Today is pleasantly sunny and mild. It is currently 8 degrees celsius (46 fahrenheit) and I was doing a bit of raking. I am trying not to be foolish and do too much at once, so I don't end up in lower back pain world, but it doesn't take much for me to feel it again. I am getting terribly lazy with keeping up with my physio exercises at home. Note to self: don't be a fool.

After raking, I thought I'd talk a walk around with my phone (i.e. camera) and show you some signs of Spring here in Ontario.

In the first pictures, you will see "snow crocus" in pretty yellow and purple colours. They are usually ahead of all others.

Next are the first little nubs of rhubarb. This plant is years and years old and always produces well. It's silly really because I still have bags and bags of frozen rhubarb and I only make a couple of different rhubarb desserts, but it's a shame to waste it. Now that I'm not working full time, I can't even bring in bundles for other people. 

This next picture is one of my two tiny cluster of snowdrops. I used to have more, but over the years they have diminished and pushed back under the tree line. I never planted them, they are remnants of previous owners.

I have purple crocus in other flower beds. They too probably need replenishing. Almost every year they get snowed on. We shall see for this year.

My tulips are pushing their way up. Daughter's birthday is May 3 and when she was little we always associated tulips with her birthday.

Finally, it wouldn't be Spring without raking. We have a very old, very large Norway Spruce on one side of our house and a very old, very large Blue Spruce on the other side. They always drop cones (the Norway Spruce much more and bigger cones) and with the many high winds we have had, countless branches from other trees have come down as well. I rake into piles and then go around and load them up in the Gorilla Cart. Rakings get burned in the burn barrel (which is actually half of an old oil tank from the basement so it holds much more). I started raking a few weeks ago in a mild spell, but of course, we have windy storms since then, so I need to rake again and add to the piles.

Here is another view of the same part of the property. Notice the scary lean on that arbour! It is also years and years old and has rotted at the bottom and parts have come away, so it is on the list of outdoor projects. It will be ripped down completely and we will just have the rail fence. I will cut back the trumpet vine that currently crawls up the arbour. The arbour may get replaced, it may not. There are always projects to be done at this old house. 

And finally, it wouldn't be an outdoor moment without Murphy. Here he is enjoying the sunshine on the back porch with me. He is adorable, but also a royal pain when I'm trying to rake. Everything is a toy!

I hope you are having a sunshiny day wherever you are. 

Welcome, Spring!

Here are some hopeful signs from two or three days ago. I think we might actually be enjoying spring and that it is here to stay.

Forsythia is just beginning to bloom. I have this type of shrub in three locations around the property. Very pretty right now, not so thrilling later.

There are little wee clusters of tiny purple violets in the lawn. They're so delicate and such a nice shot of colour.

Peonies are emerging with their wine coloured feathery tops rising up over last year's stalks.

Hostas are just starting to poke up in a new bed that I planted last year. I'm hoping for even bigger clumps this year.

The pink hydrangea from that same bed are also showing some nice growth.

Early tulips are putting forth leaves.

The rhubarb is even bigger now.

Husband and I cut down some dying / dead scrubby little trees and lilacs from the edge of the property, cleaning things up nicely. The bigger trunks will be cut up to add to our firewood. The more branchy stuff goes to the burn pile (which will be a towering inferno if we're not careful).

Since I took these pictures, things have greened up even more. The air is full of birdsong and it just feels lovely.

Speaking of birdsong and on a completely different note, Husband and I were sitting on the front porch after work this afternoon, telling each other about our days and just relaxing. I saw Scooter the Cat with No Tail coming along the rail fence. I could tell he had something in his mouth and it looked big, but I couldn't see clearly because of the fence. At first, I thought it was a black squirrel because there was so much on either side of his face and it seemed to still be moving. The cat kept trotting along, coming toward the house. Of course, I shouted to my husband to do something, but by the time the cat came up to the front walkway and husband got up to "do something", we could see it was a bird. He had the bird more or less by the head and both wings were stretched out, very much alive and moving. I don't like the thought of animals suffering and the cat just came right up the steps onto the porch where I wanted Husband to pick the cat up and force him to drop the bird. The bird, by the way, was a mourning dove. They are not small birds.

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The cat saved us the trouble. He opened his mouth and the bird flew out, scattering small feathers across the porch. The cat turned to look at us with a couple of small feathers still stuck in his mouth and whiskers. I think he was so proud to have caught this bird that he was bringing it for his humans to see and the whole thing just backfired on him.

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This is likely what I would have done:

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Actually, Scooter is black and white, much like Sylvester the Cat (except of course, with no tail).

                                    Looks rather innocent there, doesn't he?

It's spring, no it's not spring, no, wait... it's spring

This past Sunday, we emerged from our house and wandered around the yard taking note of broken branches, raking we will have to do, the fact that a platoon of squirrels has been using our old chicken coop as a walnut husk depot, and the annual drift of gravel that the friggin'  delightful snowplow leaves on our property.

There were also some sweet signs of spring here and there.

A little patch of snowdrops is all that is left of a much larger grouping. Perhaps the squirrels dig them up and move them?

The two photos above are some little bulbs I planted years ago. They are similar to a crocus, but not exactly. I do have some actual crocuses, though.

I love how dark crocuses are before they open up.

This is the promise of rhubarb to come. (I really need to finish up all that frozen rhubarb first!)

Then, four days later, Mother Nature had herself a good old belly laugh. On Thursday night the winds howled and the snow came. This is what I woke up to this morning.

The snow was thick, heavy, and wet. There were no blossoms showing through that snow.

Thankfully the sun came out through the day and much of the snow has melted. This is April in Ontario.