wordless thursday

 

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arrival

Does everyone have their own cue for when Spring is "really" here?

For many folks, I think it may be plants - individually or collectively - that close the door on Winter. Maybe it's the first sign of ferns:

or daffodils.

Maybe it's the soft and delicate columbine:

or the dazzling pool of color provided by a crocus cluster,

or even the first sight of an insect enjoying the pollen within:

For me, amongst all the signs and sights, 

there is one cue that signals Spring Is Here. 

The appearance of the first bloodroot:

I've been watching. It appeared this morning.

No matter what wild weather we may experience in the weeks ahead, it will not mean Winter was just taking a breather and has come roaring back.

For me, Spring is here.

What are your personal cues for the arrival of Spring? Please leave a comment and share your unique view, whether you are heading into Spring or Autumn or some other season in your world right now.

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update

The wild ginger is beginning to unfold!

So.
It's been 10 days of internetting on a wing and a prayer...reading blogs and sometimes managing to leave a comment, but not blogging. Using twitter because it's short and fast, but rarely succeeding at posting even low-resolution images - which I don't much enjoy posting, anyway.

Raindrops on new columbine.
Nearly every photograph I've taken lately has been during, or just after. a rainstorm.
It's been...wet.

Short repair recap: after two visits - the second today - from a very nice Tech person, and five new parts, HP says I now must send the laptop in. The good news is, I'm still under warranty. The bad news is, I will now be internetting on my small, non-fancy cellphone, for who knows how long.

In the past week I’ve already begun to feel sort of isolated and with the prospect of sending the laptop to sleep-away camp, I can almost imagine myself drifting right out of the internet and vanishing.

I guess we’ll see!

The maples began flowering on Saturday!
Even in the rain, there is a reddish tinge to the canopy.

MEANWHILE...

I want to tell you about a fundraiser to get an MRI scanner on Shetland. I’ve been following this community effort for a while, and was especially impressed by a woman who went out and gathered seeds from native Shetland wildflowers to sell in little packets for the MRI fund. Unfortunately for me, she couldn’t send them to the US.
But what a great idea!

And now...a lovely woman has handknit a Fair Isle pullover and is selling it on eBay with all the money going to the MRI fund. If you’ve ever wanted a genuine Fair Isle sweater, here’s your chance to bid on a beauty. It’s got soft colors and is made of vintage Patons Moorland pure Shetland wool. Did I mention hand-knitted?

Please pass this info along if you can –  I'm not sure how much "reach" the knitter has, and it’s such a good cause. And it's such a generous gesture on the part of the knitter. I am in awe! Please share my awe!

Here is what I hope is a working link to the eBay page

I wish I could post a picture here. Even if you are not interested in acquiring a wooly sweater, it’s worth a click just to look at the pictures. Check out the view of the inside!

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Well, I just dropped it to say hello, spend a couple of hours trying to upload photographs, and then go back out in the rain to move goats for the night. The photographs loaded slooooowly but they seem to be here - huzzah! Maybe I'll try to load some drawings and schedule them to post while my laptop is away. Like sending postcards. Just so you don't forget me :)

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saturday snaps

Look - it's sunshine!

The air is not grey!

Colors are rich and deep again!

The rain actually stopped Thursday, but the ground was saturated - every footstep left a deep print in mud. Although I'd optimistically planned to plant something - anything! finally! - that day, it was still far too wet.

Even when all the vegetation is dripping wet, Moxie and Della choose to come outside with me. Actually, they aren't really coming "with" me; they would be happy to be running in and out at will, all day long. But I am very concerned about hawks, so if the cats are outside, Piper or I must be out there too. And since Piper takes one good look around and then heads for her secret spot under the porch, her role as hawk-deterrent is negligible. So that just leaves me.

Here they are, my little jungle cats:

Fortunately, yesterday was again not-raining, and the soil had begun to dry a bit. I was finally able to plant two rows of pole beans. Hallelujah!

It looks like one row in this picture, but there is a little aisle between the two sections. The end of the second row is where you see the yellow bucket, which is full of rocks.

All that lush greenery between the garden rows looks pretty good to the goats, who poke their noses through the fence when I'm working. Every time I straighten up, I pull handfuls of greens to share out.

The goats tend to keep moving, though. Rain or shine, the mosquitoes are absolutely horrendous. Despite frequent applications of non-toxic repellent sprays, the goats are covered in itchy bites and so am I. LeShodu, who hates both the bugs and the sprays, spends more time in the barns and less time out browsing than some of the other goats. So today when I came up from the garden, I brought LeShodu a whole hatful of fresh alfalfa, picked seconds before, just for her.

It's the little things, isn't it, Shodu?

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Dear readers, I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, and if you are hiding from mosquitoes or anything else, I hope someone will bring you a hatful of fresh alfalfa.
Or, you know, something equivalent.

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saying it with flowers

Thank you for your comments on the previous post - I'm happy to report that it was perfectly lovely - I've never been to a nicer wedding! I had an excellent time, as did the friends I travelled with, and, as far as I could tell, everyone else at the event.

The week since has gotten away from me a bit, but all is well, the animals are fine, and enough about me, wouldn't you like to see some flowers?

rhododendron and birch, at the wedding reception

Since last Saturday, we've had a series of mizzling drizzling raw rainy days. And nights. The paddocks are soggy and the black flies and mosquitoes are having a field day biting all of us warm-blooded creatures. (Actually they do that rain or shine, drat the wretched things.)

In the midst of all this rain, the sun has occasionally appeared
to dazzle us with it's sudden exuberance!

Look! The Amsonia is budding:

An iris that struggled last year is blooming for the first time:

And do you have wild geranium where you live?

This is Geranium maculatum - a hardy little native...

whose cheery flowers are popping up everywhere:

Finally (for today's post), the always-elegant columbine.
They grew thigh-high seemingly overnight,
and I'm so grateful the rain hasn't destroyed all the delicate blossoms:

Just a little postcard from the land of wet flowers :)

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lightly worded wednesday

Piper and I have been taking short walks by the pond, on days when the heat is not too oppressive. Today the skies suddenly opened up a few minutes in, so Piper had a very short walk indeed.

We'll try to make up for it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here are a few pictures from the past couple of days:

I was blown away by these beautiful pitcher plants:

Sarracenia purpurea

This little turtle was about 20 feet from shore,

and I was another 30 feet inland.

Quite far away...

but I was under intense scrutiny, nonetheless!

I'll bet you recognize this favorite:

Comptonia peregrina

I've been wondering if the ladyslippers didn't bloom at all this year, perhaps because of the sudden and intense heat.

Or if they bloomed and I somehow missed it.

I usually see lots of ladyslippers flowering, but this year...

not a one.

So I was delighted yesterday when I noticed this single blossom, tucked under some low hemlocks branches:

Cypripedium acaule

Back at home, I took a quick snapshot from the car - these columbine and iris are growing on the rocky bank bordering the lower section of driveway:

 There is a lot going on in that garden; most of it good, after the intensive reclamation project that began a couple of years ago. I'm devoting some time to weeding in there this week, a litttle bit every day. It's a small area, but it's tricky with the steep slope.

Necessary work, though. After the big rain, residual bittersweet and wisteria and rubus shot up overnight. After all the brush-clearing and careful planting of perennials, I certainly don't want to let the invasives take over again. Give them an inch, they'll take an ell. Not if I can help it!

I hope you are having blue skies this week :)

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almost wordless thursday

After a long, cold Spring, we are suddenly having August.

The past few days have been extremely hot and muggy.

Tansy

Today was, of necessity, a long day of outdoor projects. My hired helper came for four hours this afternoon, and I started two hours before he arrived. I'm happy - and a little surprised - that I stayed awake long enough to do the evening chores at the regular time.

Trout Lily

Before I call it a night, I just want to share a few recent snaps.

Very green, most of them.

Comfrey

And one, orange :)

A tiny Eft

It's exciting to see perennials I planted last year, returning.

Hyssop

And it's always a special joy to see beloved native plants again.

Columbine

Violets and Columbine

Some of the most interesting plants appear in the Spring.

Jack in the Pulpit

And now, goodnight, dear readers.

I hope the weather is pleasant where you are!

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flowers and rain

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Rain, Day 4

Welcome to my saturated world.

Since Tuesday night, it has been raining off and on.  

Mostly "on."

During a brief lull this morning, I grabbed my camera and hurried outside to take a few snaps to share with you.

I hope you like the color "wet."

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