removers of dung and plants, very young

 It's absolutely perfect weather...warm and rainy...and I've been spending as much time outside as I can.  I found this little treasure by the barn this week:  

It's the skull of an Eastern cottontail rabbit.  The back of the skull is gorgeously porous!  It reminds me of sea coral.

We've got quite a few rabbits around here, so finding an occasional skull is not unusual.  I was excited to find a scarab dung beetle, too!  Check out that horn!

He's a bit different from the dung beetles that I saw in the south:

I'd love to see one in action again!  

Spring showers bring April flowers here.  

Lilacs and apple blossoms are blooming concurrently this year and make a gorgeous bouquet.

A few spring bulbs are still producing!

The grass is carpeted with violets, too low and dense for the lawnmower blade.

I saved and planted white violets last year and have been rewarded with a big group of them this spring!

Borga has developed quite the green thumb.  :)

She loves to romp in the fields and back by the pond...

...or hang out by Todd.

She and Claudia fight for Todd's attention. 

 

giving Todd a foot rub the way that only a cat can!

She's a big help when I'm working, too.

Unfortunately, she hasn't had much of an opportunity to help, since I haven't been in the garden much.  I made an effort and planted about 75 poppies in the "Hunk o' Seedling" style, in clumps rather than as individuals. Hopefully it's not too late in the season for them!  I'm delayed with everything because of my shoulder/elbow tendonitis.  I'm extremely limited when it comes to digging and weeding - pretty much essentials this time of year.  I'm not sure how my 2022 garden will progress.  I've got quite a few seedlings, so I'll have to continue with my tendonitis stretches and see what happens.  So far, I'm spending more time in-house with Calliope than outside working in the nice weather.  

She's good company, at least.  Have a great week!

go bold with cold

The recent rain has been good for the garden.

We're going to add another garden hose spigot in front of the house, but right now, our hoses are in an unwieldy tangle behind the house, and I'm mainly making dozens of trips with a 2-gallon watering can, drenching the recent transplants to promote nice root development.  The rain was much appreciated. 

You can never tell what will happen when you dig up established plants - the whole plant, or just a part of it - and give it a new location.  Sometimes it looks perky within hours...

...and sometimes they droop for days. 

It's all a trial-and-error sort of experiment, which I love.  I've just started another, too.  When I lived in Indiana before, I had great luck with some seeds (mainly annuals), but I rarely got any perennials to grow when I planted the seeds directly into the ground.  I recently planted a few perennial seeds, and was surprised to get no germination.  I did some research, and discovered that perennial seeds need cold stratification - or a freezing/thawing cycle - to soften their shell and prepare them for germination.  No cold stratification, very little germination.  Light bulb moment!  Unfortunately, most sites recommend a 30 - 90 cold stratification process...not the sort of thing you want to read about 2 weeks before planting.  I found a shortcut method that I'm trying out.  First, you fold seeds into a damp paper towel...

...and seal it in a plastic baggie.

Two days in the refrigerator, two days in the freezer, and repeat, repeat.  Hopefully, within a week, I will have "tricked" the seeds into sprout-readiness.  They need to be, because I've plotted out a very, very ambitious garden plan.

That's right...SIX twelve foot by five foot beds, and then a series of smaller beds, which will encircle an 11' x 11' foot open space.  That will be a little 'garden room' with a fire pit and chairs.  Two dump trucks full of compost will be delivered this week, and then plowing will commence.  This is a huge project, but even if I just get the first 6 beds and the garden room space done this year, I'll be pleased.  I'm already running out of space in the new side garden, so I definitely need to spread out!

Meanwhile, in the established garden, peonies are getting ready to bloom. 

Columbines are about a foot tall and just getting ready to bud out.  I planted red, white, purple, pink, and 'mystery' colors...I can't wait to see what opens up!

Foam flowers are blooming...

There are bleeding hearts and anemones...

...and plenty of happy company.

This tiny cat has proven to be quite the hunter.  Not only has she been bringing us frequent voles, but has also been bringing RABBITS.  First a big one...

...but the past two days...BABIES.  It's so sad, but what I've read has made me feel a bit better...that wild rabbits reproduce at an alarming rate, that rabbits are terrible for gardens, and that not not only cats, but coyotes and foxes make meals of them.  And we've got those around, I guess, because I spotted this giant fellow in the barn yard last week, right before I was headed out for a walk!

I've never seen such a big, healthy one, but the wildlife biologist at the local DNR assured me that it was just a well-fed guy that still had a nice winter coat.  We're not ready to do much in the back fields yet, anyway, and they haven't gotten their spring mow.  Todd and I have both found ticks on ourselves this past week, too, so we're minimizing our time back there for now.

Staying close to the house, and enjoying the spring show...the lilacs, the unfurling red maple leaves, and the blooming apple tree.

Have a great week!

sprouts 'n shouts

Happiness is...

...my spring garden.  I will admit to being a little flower-crazy over this past week.  I've fussed over my greenhouse seedlings (germination 75%!  Hooray!!).  I've micromanaged the new growth in the front garden, splitting up clumps of ferns and spacing out my columbines.  I've mercilessly weeded.  I've worried over a dry spell and grumbled over low nighttime temperatures.  In short, it's been heavenly.

Only a gardener would understand as I bend over some mysterious green growth, puzzling over its identity.  "Is this a weed, or did I plant this?!?"  I ask Todd.  He smiles and nods. 

He doesn't understand my euphoria over sturdy peony shoots.  "These were flattened by the drought last year!"  I inform him.  "Absolutely dead!"  I show him my coreopsis.  "These can be divided next year."  I gloat.  "And wait until we build a potting shed and I can start using rooting hormone!"  Since he's not a "flower person," he politely admires and says yes, I've never seen such a healthy euphorbia and oh, definitely, that probably is a coneflower.  In short, he does exactly the right thing.

I am especially delighted because I've built this big garden from scratch.  When we moved in last year, the only things planted were a few hostas, a bleeding heart, and these daffodils (and weeds!).  I'm sure I've got at least 100 plants coming up now, and that doesn't include what's coming up in the greenhouses.  I've got 30 columbines alone!  Squeee!!!

I did have to do something regrettable, though - pricking out my chamomile.  "Pricking out" means thinning your seedlings, as they are likely to be too close.  That means they're competing for nutrients, space, and water, and are not going to thrive.  My chamomile went crazy this year:

I hate to lose even one plant, so pricking out is difficult for me.  Even though I have plenty of chamomile...even though I still have a few seeds left, and it grows easily if you broadcast the seed...I tried to save as many plants as I could.

This is a dangerous time for young seedlings.  First, they have to survive the upheaval of the pricking out.  Then they have to adjust to a new planting - which means that, until their roots fan out a bit, they are going to struggle to draw up water and nutrients.  Finally, they have to deal with "hardening off," or getting used to the sun, outside the comfort and protection of their little greenhouse space.  We have cold nights and sometimes fairly warm days, so this will make them tough - if they survive.  Finally, they'll have to make it through yet another relocation - to their final destination, my garden.  Fingers crossed that I have a healthy crop!

Todd and I have been working all around the property this week.  We walked the fields, trying to decide where to put the fences.

We attacked the fence line next to the house, spending hours and hours pulling up blackberry brambles and dried weeds.

We're both covered in scratches, but it's worth it to clear out that mess!  On our rambles, we discovered...redbud trees!

Another mystery tree about to flower...

Pollinators out and about!

And an entire slope of trillium/trout lilies by the stream leading to the pond!  They should be blooming within a week.

It's also heartening to see so many birds out and about.

And, another great harbinger of spring - our apple tree is starting to bud out!  I can't wait for the blossoms.

Although I'm irritatingly hampered by my sore shoulder, I love this springtime work.  I can't wait to see the fruits of our labor in a couple of months.

Have a great week!