grass mass

The frogs singing, the days warming, the buds popping...all have been arrested by our recent cold spell.  Typical cold, grey March weather.

We had a brief snow shower yesterday that had melted off by noon.  

Heavy, wet snow, made up of crooked bars instead of the normal soft flakes.

Good thing we were able to squeeze in a hike before this cold weather came!

The brief flare of warmth brought out some spring ephemerals.  Old favorites, like Cut-Leaf Toothwort...

...and Trillium.

The Hepatica were a new discovery!

Some promising mysteries...

Borga's not as light on her feet as she used to be and slid right off the boardwalk!

It was 74 degrees that day, and today won't climb out of the 30s.  I like to save cat grass for these cold, grey days.  Cat grass isn't grass, exactly.  It's a mix of wheat, barley, rye, oats, and/or other grains.  It grows more rapidly than anything I've ever planted.  If you plant cat grass, you'll see green in two days.  It grows for several days and doesn't start looking sad for close to two weeks.

I bought cat grass for Bosewichte years ago.

Our kittens have never eaten grass, though, so presumably aren't as susceptible to temptation.  Besides, they're a lot sleepier during these overcast days, so there are more opportunities to sneak something new into their environment!

Cat grass is shallow-rooted, so it can be grown in almost anything.  I'd seen it sprouted in eggshells for a nice Easter/spring centerpiece and decided to try it.

I can't believe how easy it was.  I saved eggshells for a week, rinsed them out, and let them air dry.  I used my glue gun to hot-glue the shells together in a pleasing configuration.  The glue dries almost instantly, so it was a breeze to pop them together.  I spooned in damp soil, sprinkled my seeds, and topped off with a bit more soil.  I placed them on a heat pad for a couple of days (you could use a hot water bottle or even a sunny window sill), and boom:  instant spring!

I spritz in some water every couple of days and they're fine...even in a fairly dim room.  I think they're so festive!

I'm going to start some "singles" in white egg cups.  Beautiful on a window sill or next to your computer...as long as you don't have curious cats!  

It's a nice progression from the paperwhites I like to grow in the winter.  It's hard to go very long without a little bit of green in the house!

Another chilly week ahead, but hopefully we'll be able to do some exploring again soon.

Have a great week!