winter gloves and garden loves

It was nearly 80 degrees on Friday, so I rushed out to get some of my seedlings in the ground.  They can tolerate a little bit of cold, but in spring, I can't.  I adore winter until early March, and then I can only think about warmth.  Todd laughed at me yesterday in my thick winter coat, wool hat and gloves, but that 45 degrees feels like 45 below after I'm winter-finished.

I wasn't the only one who was appreciating the warmer weather.  This garter snake was enjoying the sun, too.

While I was working in the garden, he slid in and out from beneath the brown paper strip I was using for weed suppression, finally settling into a coil at the edge of the bed.

Although I had to be careful not to put my hand on him while I was digging holes nearby, I'm not afraid of garter snakes and am glad that he's going to be working near my garden this spring!

I had to walk carefully when I was moving my trays of seedlings, because we have a resident Fowler's Toad.

Sometimes he's in the gravel by the barn, and sometimes he's barely visible, snuggled into a tuft of grass nearby.  They've got a great call that's been called sheep-like by some.

I'm glad to have these 2 natural sources of pest control nearby!

We've got a few crayfish towers (or, as we called them when I was growing up, crawdad holes) in the yard.

Although the dried towers can cause trouble for lawn mowers, having crayfish around is also beneficial!  They help to move nutrients and oxygen deep into the ground...help with water runoff...and abandoned holes provide a protective place for other little creatures.  I like thinking about their little feelers quivering out of the tower's top at night as they climb to the surface to forage for food. These towers can be flattened for mowing.  No worries, the crayfish will just build it up again.  :)  

The warm weather brought out the ground bees, too.  They swarmed everywhere, exploring and mating.  They, too, are completely harmless.  Males can't sting and females almost never do, and they're wonderful pollinators!  

Our other resident farm worker, Claudia, was out in the sunshine with me.  We've noticed that as she's becoming more...Rubenesque...by our heavy feeding, she's brought in a lot less voles.   :)

I got these seedings in the ground just in time...the roots are fine now, but on the verge of being a little too thick on the bottom (i.e. root bound).  

I've got close to 110 plants (Bachelor Buttons, Cress, and Snapdragons) planted in the first row, and I'm not done yet!  They are remarkably hardy.  With our weather fluctuations, the trays have sat outside in chilly temperatures, rain, and wind.  Still, I covered the row last night, with temperatures at or just below freezing in the forecast.  I'm gnashing my teeth, too, looking ahead to the midweek - dipping down to 24 one night!  That means cover for EVERYTHING, which is a huge pain.  But, as Todd joked yesterday as I was grumbling and strapping on my winter gear to move the seedlings yet again, "You chose this life."  

Yeah, yeah!  The work is made easier by all of the little garden companions and others, like this Brown Thrasher singing lustily in a nearby tree while I planted.

Easier, too, when I have a front row seat for spring progress.  I love seeing the apple tree budding out!

My back perennial garden, too, is putting on color.  Eeek, I've got to thin some of this out in the next couple of weeks!

With spring mornings like this, I don't even mind going out in the early chill to turn on the plant grow lights in the barn.

Here's hoping (unlikely as it might be) that this week's deep frost is our last.  I'm ready to make some real progress outside.

Have a great week!

triple-wraps and scaly caps

This is my favorite time of year to hike.  The air is so crisp (I've determined that the absolute perfect temperature is 55 degrees) and although I have to double- or triple-layer because I'm always cold, it's so worth it.

It's not just the temperature.  The outdoor colors are so deep and rich.

Our leaves are just beginning to get a tinge of color, but sometimes you'll see an early-turning maple and get a sense of things to come.

Everything is slower and more quiet.  It's just perfect.

The spring and summer has a more obvious, showy beauty, but I think there's a lot of be said for this season's offerings. 

And there's still life, of course.  We usually see at least one berry-bearing tree or bush on a hike, which provides a great pop of color.

There are still gorgeous mushrooms around.

I came across a group of Pholiota squarrosa this week.

These shaggy scalycaps, as they are informally known, were once considered edible, with a sharp radish-like taste.  Now, however, they've been deemed poisonous, "especially if consumed with alcohol."  The see-sawing of mushroom recommendations is a little worrisome to me, so I'm sticking with the grocery store varieties!

A Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)came across my path last week.

They've been described as having a "sheep-like bleat" but I will let you be the judge!  For some reason, the male's mating call attracts both male and female toads, but he has a special "Whoops!" call that warns males attempting to mate with him that they've made a mistake.  Females lay up to 25,000 eggs in spring or early summer, so as you might guess, Fowler's Toads are pretty common!

I didn't realize that snakes shed their skin so late in the season, but I came across a clearly newly-shed snakeskin last week.

Apparently snakes shed several times a year to accommodate growth.  Problems with shedding from an incomplete shed can cause too many layers, especially around the head/eyes, and can cause blindness.  This snake didn't seem to have any trouble!

Some long-gone spider made a little nest in this leaf.

Some caterpillars, especially leaf roller caterpillars, will make webs in leaves, but it's usually just a small pocket. 

I'm looking forward to more near-daily hikes as the weather gets cooler.  Borga loves it!  It's funny, we never do family pictures...just random dog-holding pictures when we're out on a hike. 

We even did a city dog walk (and obligatory pics) this week.  Borga got her own glow-paint! 

The cats, meanwhile, are staying busy in my quilts.  I'm pretty sure they think I made them specifically for their comfort.  :)

Have a great week! 

when it rains, it pours

Most people knew that a tropical storm was passing south and east of us, but as I don't watch T.V. or read newspapers, I was completely oblivious.  I did notice that we had - and continue to have - days and days of heavy rain.

We've had torrential downpours, during which I throw open all the windows and the doors to catch the fresh air, followed by brief periods of blazing sun, during which I run around, shutting everything to keep the humidity and mugginess out.  Thankfully, we haven't had any problems with a leaking roof or pooling water.  Everything runs downhill into the pond. 

During the brief dry periods, I've rushed outside to take photos.  Pre- and post-rain tends to offer the best light, and I always try to take advantage of that, since the skills needed to manipulate light with camera dials continues to elude me. 

That bush in the corner of our fenced-off garden is a hydrangea.

It's blue, too, which is my favorite hydrangea color.

With all the rain, I've found plenty of mushrooms.  This is a mushroom that looks a bit like a morel...

I found a whole grouping of unusual-looking mushrooms...

 I was hoping they'd have a clever name like "candy corn mushrooms", since that's what they look like.

Alas, while there is a candy corn mushroom, this isn't it.

Oh, the magnolias!

We have several of these deciduous trees with lovely leathery green leaves, but we've had few blossoms.  Maybe the spring weather has just been too rainy.  But I pick them whenever I get a chance.  They're huge!

Here's a nearly CLOSED one, next to a dime for scale.

Since they're so large, I only need one to add a little something on the nightstands.

These flowers close up at night (even the cut ones) and open in the morning, opening progressively wider and wider until they're the size of dinner plates.  It's so beautiful.

The nasturtiums I planted are opening up...

I've had plenty of chances to photograph their beautiful leaves, which hold water droplets so nicely.

The mystery berry bush below my office window is putting out blossoms in preparation for fall berries...

The hostas are sending up stalks...

...which will open into pretty flowers.  I've got other pretty leafy plants coming up, but I'm not quite sure what they are.

We have a series of bushes in the back yard with dark green, waxy-looking leaves.  Five or six of them flank the back driveway and a couple of them are at the base of our patio.  I knew they were going to bloom soon because of all the swollen buds...

I like a wild and natural look, so I took some clippers and spent some time trimming back the leaves of both these bushes and the berry bushes, which hung gracefully over the patio steps.  I carefully trimmed back individual leaves so that there was some draping but a person could still easily pass through.  I don't think my husband was on board with 'graceful draping', because the very next day, I looked up from my computer to see him cutting down huge sections of the bushes with his clippers.  I rushed to the window to stop him, but the damage had already been done.

Chop, chop...

Chop.

I couldn't believe it.  I know he meant well, but oh, the humanity! 

Anyway, a day or so later the remaining buds opened and it proved to be a gardenia bush.

They're so beautiful, and the smell is amazing.  When the windows are open, the smell drifts in.  They're supposed to bloom all summer long...I hope so!

We've seen a lot of wildlife lately.  Even though only Todd's point-and-click camera has zoom and therefore the quality is fairly poor, I've enjoyed catching these animals in their natural states.  We have a lot of white-tailed deer here...

...but so far we haven't had any trouble with them getting into the garden.

We have a family of red foxes too!  I often see them trotting across our driveway...

...and through the yard of the empty house next door.

When I was going across the side yard, I thought I saw a toad ducking into a big hole.

Since the hole is just outside of my office window, I've been able to pay close attention to it.  Indeed there is a toad living there. 

Oh, isn't he a beauty?  He's a Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri).  Fowler's Toads have a prolonged nasal call:  click here

They are known for burrowing into the ground and I think he's got himself a pretty sweet spot there.  I've actually become very fond of him.  Every time I look outside, he's perched on the edge of his hole without a care in the world.  I hope he stays awhile!

Hope you're finding some new life in your neck of the woods.  Have a great week!