We woke to a sunny, but brittle morning. The wet clumps of snow had frozen around fragile blooms. Predictably, the delicate daffodils were not happy. (The rest of the farmette stuff survived.)
If you are not a gardener, I suppose you may even find it kind of pretty: snow and the fresh green of spring -- it's not an unattractive mix, especially on a sunny day.
(the tips of the willow, iced over...)
But I'm mourning the loss of all those tall yellow girls. Having grown to their full height, they just couldn't take the heavy snow-turned ice. Ah well, it could have been so much worse.
Breakfast, definitely indoors.
We don't immediately go outside. It's a little cool and I have a lot of farmhouse cleaning to attend to. I want to wash all the kitchen windows (there are many!) and scrub out the entire mudroom, in addition to the usual weekly house cleaning stuff. In the meantime, Ed occupies himself with creating support stands for my peonies. He's trying out a new design -- its most important attribute is that it is made from scraps. We have a number of peonies and though I know many gardeners don't mind if they fall to the ground, most (though not all) of ours look better in an upright position.
What feels really good is to take the flower pots outside again. They're big, heavy and numerous, but it really is an act of joy to set them out again -- this time for good. We anticipate no more big dips in temperatures!
In the evening, my daughter comes with her two kids for dinner (dad is otherwise occupied). There is a lot of play and some modest amount of good food. Let's run through just a handful of pics that well describe the evening.
The day ends ever so calmly. No frantic worries about plants or blooming flowers. No constant refresh on the weather website. Calm. With a smile for all that's ahead.
If you are not a gardener, I suppose you may even find it kind of pretty: snow and the fresh green of spring -- it's not an unattractive mix, especially on a sunny day.
(the tips of the willow, iced over...)
But I'm mourning the loss of all those tall yellow girls. Having grown to their full height, they just couldn't take the heavy snow-turned ice. Ah well, it could have been so much worse.
Breakfast, definitely indoors.
We don't immediately go outside. It's a little cool and I have a lot of farmhouse cleaning to attend to. I want to wash all the kitchen windows (there are many!) and scrub out the entire mudroom, in addition to the usual weekly house cleaning stuff. In the meantime, Ed occupies himself with creating support stands for my peonies. He's trying out a new design -- its most important attribute is that it is made from scraps. We have a number of peonies and though I know many gardeners don't mind if they fall to the ground, most (though not all) of ours look better in an upright position.
What feels really good is to take the flower pots outside again. They're big, heavy and numerous, but it really is an act of joy to set them out again -- this time for good. We anticipate no more big dips in temperatures!
In the evening, my daughter comes with her two kids for dinner (dad is otherwise occupied). There is a lot of play and some modest amount of good food. Let's run through just a handful of pics that well describe the evening.
The day ends ever so calmly. No frantic worries about plants or blooming flowers. No constant refresh on the weather website. Calm. With a smile for all that's ahead.
