"Do To Snow"

So, Ryan got a text message from his college: "Classes cancelled do to snow." Ryan told me he hopes the person responsible feels stupid, but I'm betting they don't even know what they did wrong.

Anyway, this is the reason for the cancellation:

 (That's the snow blown into a porch that's got a roof with a huge overhang, and walls on 2 of the 4 sides.  Must have been quite some wind.)

Looks like 8 to 10 inches to me, but it's blown around at a pretty good rate, so it's hard to tell for certain.  Plus, 2 of my 3 doors are snowed shut, so I'm not working my tailfeathers off to get out there, I assure you!  I do have to say that since I fly out at 6AM tomorrow, I'm glad the snow was today!

Happy Thorsday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: Color

My yard is awash in color. Pictures don't do it justice.
Zooming in on a few of my 80-plus year old apple trees, it's obvious why this is my favorite season.

I'm afraid I scared this guy by walking outside.

Lilacs

We now interrupt our planned coverage of our trip to Wyoming to bring these beautifull, springy photos of Marjie's yard when she returned home. While I'd like to supply you with "scratch & sniff" photos of my yard, you'll simply have to imagine the sweetest perfume you've ever encountered (unless, of course, you have a burning desire to scratch your monitor. Far be it from me to deprive you of your heart's desires.)

My earliest dogwood tree to bloom (several more will bloom in the next 2 weeks)

Pale purple lilacs (I have about 6 of these)

I love this dark purple lilac. It is the only one of its kind.

And did you know holly bushes flower in spring? We generally only think of them having those lovely red berries in wintertime!

Back to less green photos tomorrow.

Spring, at Last!

My weeping cherry tree, which has to be at least 50 years old, and more likely 80, says it:

My backyard says it:

Spring is finally here. The trees in our orchard have finally begun to bloom. I don't recall the bright red one ever being so vivid before! In the foreground is a little Bradford Pear, planted 2 years ago to replace another which was taken down by a microburst, and it's covered in flowers. To its left in this picture is the twin to the original one; it's funny that the twin isn't blooming.

And, of course, the dandelions have arrived. Son #4 will be home from college next weekend, and it's a darn good thing. No, hubby doesn't mow this yard, because, since he does all the laundry and some of the dishes for me, I'd feel honor bound to buy a second tractor and cut part of the lawn myself. In a dress, heels and pearls? Ha! Pay the sons, or pay a lawn service.

All hail spring!

Spring is on the way

My back yard doesn't look much like spring this weekend.

Nor does my forsythia, at least from a distance.

Up close, the forsythia does show signs of spring!

So, I ventured onto my back terrace in search of those tiny blue flowers which are always an early harbinger of spring, and found them "on the way"!

And, my magnolia is breaking bud! (Imagine, a strain of what we typically think of as a southern tree, able to grow here in the cold climates! Oh, happy day!)

My house is nearly 80 years old, and some of the plantings are about that old. I am just thankful that the original owners didn't do this:

Those are cedar arches, from a photo in the 1928 Audel's Gardener's and Grower's Guide. I do love the 1920s era books; they are full of unusual information and wonderful pictures. Consider this , the opening paragraph in the same book's Chapter XVIII, "Lawn Making":

"An English gardener, when asked how to make a lown, replied: "Oh, it's quite easy, quite easy, I assure you. You prepare the ground carefully, and you sow it with a mixture of the best grades of lawn grass seed, and all you have to do is roll it for about three hundred years. And there you are."

Obviously, our lawn fertilization program is mulching our autumn leaves, and that didn't happen last fall, since the snow flew before all the leaves were down. Nonetheless, as soon as our ground dries out somewhat, it's raking and mulching for us (by which I mean my sons, since I don't do outdoor labor). It's been raining 4 or 5 days a week of late; I feel like I've moved to Portland with Paula!

Snow

6" of snow yesterday. Sunshine and 30 degrees. Boys and dog playing in the snow. It doesn't get much prettier than that!