Spring, glorious spring!

I've been out in the garden getting it ready to plant. Green beans go in April but I can plant beets and turnips right now. I've already got the chard and the sugar snap peas in and my super-early tomato variety is blooming. Unfortunately, the weeds are doing very, very well.
 
I've been playing in the garden, too! Four types of radishes went in today; five beets and three carrots go in tomorrow. Can't wait for the full garden in the months ahead.
 
Sounds like you two have yummy yards. :)

No veggie gardening for me. However, I am very much enjoying the ornamental trees dotting the roadside with pink and white. The daffodils and dandelions compete for the prettiest yellow, and some sort of ground cover is turning the medians a lovely purple. Yea for spring in Texas!
 


Sure signs of spring:




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For those of us down here on Tobacco Road, the real winter to summer transition occurs over the next few weeks.

And tonight is a scrumptious appetizer.

:D
 
Just came in from walking the dog and almost stepped on a frog. He was enjoying the first rainfall in almost a month.
 

Forget the calendar; today was the first real day of spring. Temperatures were in the high 50°s. The signature early spring flowers are all over the place and I got my first whiff of boxwood. The forsythia will bust out tomorrow. The redbuds ( cercis canadensis ) aren't far behind. The snowdrops ( galanthus nivalis ) have been out for several weeks.

Anemone ranucloides, bloodroot, crocus longiforus ( Dutch crocus ), early Star-of-Bethlehem ( gagea bohemica ), jonquils ( narcissus jonquilla ), and helianthemum apenninum.


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DAFFODILS, DAFFODILS




It's Daffodil Day! They're all over the place!​


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... and a good day for the first outdoor run of the year— the legs had energy to burn.



 

Whoa! Very few people saw this coming:

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The magnolia exploded today and the cherry blossoms are already a couple of days old; the delicious funky aroma of lilac and mulch permeates the air.

85° and the second outdoor run of the spring— 4 miles through the woods alongside the rotting ties and rusting rails of the old spur right-of-way. As much as I make a point of running on a treadmill and playing scads of tennis during the winter, every year my initial spring runs make clear that there are different muscles involved in running o'er hill and dale.


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We had our first 80 degree day and it settled back down to the 70's.

I could see the snow crested rim of the Sierra, 40 miles away this morning and the oak in the back has burst out in leaf in the last two days.

Spring has sprung here in La La Land for certain.
 
The spring irises are starting to send up stalks. Now I know how many of the tall hybrids I lost when I lifted the entire bed last year. Damnation! HM suggests that from now on I tag each hybrid clump so this doesn't happen again. How did such a sensible woman somehow manage to marry a bear?
 

The azalea exploded and the leaves on the trees popped out. The leaves are just shy of full so it's still possible to see deep into the woods where white dogwoods slash the dark hillsides. Their are a surprising number of dogwoods scattered throughout the woods. The peepers are singing.

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The weather cooperated beautifully for the race on Saturday. The going was soft but the footing wasn't dangerous. After all that rain, it was surprising how good the ground was. It's horrifying to think how many years I've attended these races.

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Late spring slides into summer-like weather patterns. In these parts, for virtually every day in the summer the weatherfolk will state that there's ×% chance of showers or thunderstorms. It can be extremely frustrating for those of us who like to make outdoor plans— be they riding, hiking, bicycling, sailing, running or walking.

Here's the forecast that was given for today ( earlier in the day), for example:
This
Afternoon
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Severe
Tstms
Hi 76 °F
This Afternoon: Showers and thunderstorms.
Some of the storms could be severe. High near 76.
Southwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch,
except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.


Does that make you think about going out for a bike ride? Of course not. Yet at 2:30 the sky was clear. It's simply impossible to plan; all you can do is look at the sky and go with your instinct. I hopped on my bicycle and got in a 2½ hour ride.

Welcome to summer weather.


 
Very good. It's a cross-generic Brassocattleya that is temperature tolerant enough that I can grow it outdoors here. It's the first of the cattleya family this season and from the looks of the plants, it's going to be a good year.
 


There's no better place in the world for spring. Were I a billionaire, I'd spend summers on the water, at the beach or in the mountains, autumn in either New England or the Rockies and winters in Switzerland, Austria or the tropics.

For spring, though, there's but one place.


Enjoy yourself; the exercise is good for you. I've already broken out the shorts and the next couple of days ought to rejuvenate and repair all the despair and discontent of winter.


Of course; England.
 
Of course; England.

HP, you are not the first with that sentiment:
Ah, to be in England, now that spring's there.

I am unable to run the quote or its author to ground. Was it Rupert Brooke? I don't think it's Kipling. It is memorable to me since it is the caption on a print that hangs in a relative's house.


 


It was the first day that felt like summer— 91° F. with 62% humidity at 1345— and it showed in the absence of people out in the woods where I run. By the end of my 3½ miles, I was drenched in sweat.

All spring, I've cursed as it's become obvious that the number of people who have discovered my patch of woods has greatly increased. When I was young, nobody knew about my wilderness kingdom; I could, and did, walk for miles without seeing a soul.

Now, its been invaded. The invaders are oblivious to my proprietary interest in these woods. A day like today is refreshing. The heat and humidity keep the weenies away; to them, it's oppressive, to me, it's comfortable.

The increasing number of dogs is becoming a problem. Many of them are unleashed and they will occasionally snarl or jump at me as I run past. I immediately go into "alpha dog" mode when that happens, raging and screaming as I confront the offender, while simultaneously admonishing the owner. My adrenalin is already pumping from my run; it is augmented by a threatening dog. I'm sure the offending dog's owners perceive me as impolite and rude. So be it. These are my woods and their failure to control their animal isn't my problem.

Most of these people shouldn't have dogs, in the first place. They're out here because it's too crowded where they live to allow dogs to roam. When I was young, the dogs ran free because there was plenty of room. They are meant to run free; if an area is too densely populated for that, then people shouldn't have dogs.


 


I always smell the honeysuckle blossoms before I see 'em. They've come early this year. It's such a lovely smell. Every year, I make a point of plucking some blossoms and enjoying some nectar. Pulling the stamen through the plucked blossom stem in order to savor those delicious drops of nectar is an annual reminder of the blissfully oblivious days of youth.



 
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