BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Metchosin
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 11:30 AM

The blossoms on the big leaf maples in front of our house have started to open. Every morning my car and the driveway is covered with large clumps of moss and lichen, that have been dislodged from the maple's branches by varied thrushes, eagerly seeking insect grubs overhead. In another week the car will be further decorated by the sticky tendrils and gum that fall from the blossoms.

The King apple, which developed a 45 degree tilt after the last heavy snowfall this winter, has leafed out and the only falling snow now, is pale pink and carpets the swordfern below the flowering cherry.

One of the rhodos has burst into full bloom and a rufus hummingbird is staking his territory in a buzz bomb display over the magenta blossoms of the salmon berries.

Spring is definitely here and wonderfully early this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: gnu
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 11:44 AM

Metchosin... sounds just excellent. No wonder you lot in Lotus Land are so envied by the rest of us Canucks. I have two cousins out there and they wouldn't move back here for all the tea.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Joybell
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 05:46 PM

freda, Send some rain down. I'm grateful for the sunshine and the still warm weather but we really need the Autumn rains. At least a little shower.
In a few weeks we'll be in the American Midwest and then in New Mexico. How is the Spring looking around Indiana, Iowa? Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: freda underhill
Date: 22 Mar 05 - 06:22 PM

Hey Rain!


Rain in my hair, rain in my face - muddy old Innisvale's a muddy wet place, hey rain, hey rain,
Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

Bloke from the west nearly died of fright 'cause the river rose thirty-five feet last night, hey rain, hey rain
Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

Johnson River crocodile living in me fridge, and a bloody great tree on the Jubilee Bridge, hey rain, hey rain,
Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

Rain in my beer, rain in my grub, and they've just fitted anchors to the Garradunga Pub, hey rain, hey rain,
Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

Wet season skies have sprung a leak from Flying Fish point to the Millstream Creek, hey rain, hey rain,
Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

Wet season sky so black and big, and an old flying fox in a Moreton Bay fig, hey rain, hey rain,
Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

It's the worst wet season we've ever had; I'd swim down to Tully - but it's just as bloody bad, hey rain, hey rain,Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

by Bill Scott.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Pauline L
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 12:13 AM

Metchosin, that sounds so, so good. Where do you live?

Update from the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC: Yesterday I saw some red on a red maple tree, but I didn't have my camera with me. Today I went out for a walk with my camera, and I saw periwinkle, pansies, and crocus in bloom. You, too, can see them here.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: bbc
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 07:00 AM

Now, we have a forecast of 5-10 inches of snow overnight, again!

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: ranger1
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 08:27 AM

Well, the snowbanks have subsided from six inches above my neighbor's six foot high fence to about 18 incehes below and instead of three inches of ice on the sidewalks, we now have an inch of slush. But the male cardinals are singing their mating calls and the sparrows are using the mud puddle in front of my apartment building as a public bath, so it shouldn't be too much longer. Although, in Maine, those are always famous last words.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Alice
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 09:11 AM

Some snow here. Typical for spring, but not enough to make up for the loss of snowpack this winter. Apricot tree on the south side about ready to burst into bloom.

Alice in Montana

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 11:27 AM

Magnolias are blooming, and I noticed at the garden center this morning that they have several varieties in full display. This is the week to go in and choose one to plant in the back yard. I also spotted a visiting meadowlark yesterday. (Not sure where Kern County is, the source of this photo. Since Texas is in the middle of the continent, I don't know if we have Western or Eastern Meadowlarks here).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Metchosin
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 12:56 PM

PaulineL, I'm on Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada.

Alice, we have little or no snowpack this year either. Could make for less than idyllic conditions again later on.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Pauline L
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 12:57 PM

I really envy people who live in a house and have a yard to plant, care for plants, and just watch nature.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Metchosin
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 01:16 PM

Yeah Pauline, I consider myself pretty lucky....although sometimes I wish I had more than 18 minutes a day to really appreciate it. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 02:21 PM

Understood! Sometimes it seems the only chance I get to admire the yard is after I've struggled to mow it, or on my trips out to the compost heap. Just going outside and relaxing in it, what a concept!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Joybell
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 06:17 PM

freda, Good song isn't it? Rain features in so many Aussie songs, and that ones one of the best, I reckon. Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 23 Mar 05 - 06:59 PM

Essex Girl - if you're passing this way at all, I'd love some frogspawn! Spent ages making a frog friendly pond, and the buggers won't come!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Cats
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 06:14 AM

Liz the Squeak, if you happen to be in Cornwall I have tadpoles and baby newts in my pond, come and fetch it.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 07:46 AM

The 40-50 degree weather has been working on the snow that landed on us on the 11th and 12th. It's disappearing into rotten, dirty piles, but disappearing.

But . . . woke up to snow this morning. Maybe and inch or so, but it's still doing it and I have to make the tricky walk up the hill to the car, get it cleared off and drive 17 miles to work in this shhhhhhtuff.

I was hoping my poor old falling apart '91 Grand Am with the useless heater/defroster wouldn't have to slog through any more snow. I pick up my "new" 2000 Saturn wagon tomorrow. Sigh.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 07:48 AM

Oh yeah, and the mailbox did reappear -- it just can't be gotten to. But the post office is on the way to work, and I've been getting some nice early morning smiles in the mail. Believe it or not, my mail carrier apologised to me yesterday morning! Geez, the mound of concrete-textured snow in front of the box isn't her fault!

Should be able to get mail delivered again by June . . .

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: robomatic
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 08:09 AM

It's snowing right now near Boston, but the first crocus leaves are well up.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Flash Company
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 10:19 AM

Lay in bed this morning wathing a Blackbird on his singing post (The topmost twig of our 100 year old Pear tree). Blossom is just starting to show on it, if we get no frost in the next week or so it will be just lovely.

FC

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Layah
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 11:55 AM

There was warmth! And sun today! I wore sandals for the first time since I arrived in Scotland seven months ago. And I don't like shoes, normally I wear sandals or go barefoot ten months of the year. Funny how things are comparative, we've just barely made it back into what I would consider normal winter temperature, but since it's a lot warmer than it was it feels like it's actually warm. Having bad weather all the time really makes me appreciate the good weather more.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Sorcha
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 12:41 PM

2" of snow last night....sigh.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Cats
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 01:02 PM

The seeds I put in at the weekend have started to show through. They've been under a cloche so it's a touch warmer but I should be able to plant out in a few more weeks. T shirts and sandals all this week, apparantley it's been warmer in Cornwall than it has in Spain! There again, it's a bank holiday this weekend so you can guarantee it'll rain and turn cold again.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Gurney
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 09:23 PM

Autumn, definately. It's prepissitating down.

Chris in NZ.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Tinker
Date: 24 Mar 05 - 11:07 PM

Okay we got four inches of snow yesterday, but it's nearly gone and my six inch high daffodils have buds showing. Spring is defying the odds here in New Jersey.

Yah know it's been unseasonably cold and snowy here abouts since Big Mick came down from Michigan....hmmmm.... In fact the only week that ranked near normal was the week of St Pat's when he went back to Michigan.....

But spring will come....

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Flash Company
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 09:04 AM

At breakfast this morning I had my first visit of the year from the Jay,don't see it too often, they're woodland birds really. It will hang around for a few weeks and then disappear until next year.
FC

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: GUEST,Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 11:35 AM

Oddest thing. Here it is March 27 in the lower elevations of Texas and it was snowing for a while this morning, according to the weather folks. I didn't see it (it doesn't make much noise on the roof, for starters, so I didn't look out!) but reports have a mix of snow and rain here in the county. It wasn't freezing, so I don't think any of our tender plants were injured.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Pauline L
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 01:50 PM

I can't feel sorry for folks who have a yard but not much time to work in it. Just to see it as you walk by or to hear an occasional birdsong to help you stay in touch with the "real world" is something I would appreciate so much.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 02:09 PM

We harvested our first strawberry of the season a few days ago. And it did have just one bite taken out of it by the squirrel. I cut around the bite and we ate it anyway. It was, after all, our first strawberry of the season.

Just about everything is in bloom or in leaf (except for the sycamore tree in our yard), dogwoods, redbuds, oaks, maples, pears, all kinds of clover. I saw some Quaker ladies (bluets) blooming a couple of weeks ago. That really took me by surprise.

Yesterday and today we have flooding rains, thunderstorms, and a couple of days worth of end-to-end tornado watches, probably until some time tomorrow.

When I first moved to this area, JtS told me that it almost never rains here. The last year or two it deems like it has rained about fifty percent of the time. It's quite a climate change for this area.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Pauline L
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 02:29 PM

CarolC and others, please tell us or remind us where you live when you post your spring reports. It's frustrating to try to guess your whereabouts.

Reporting from a suburb of Washington DC: It has been gray, cool, and rainy here for about a week, and I'm longing for signs of spring. The grass is a little greener, even on this side of the fence, and the honeysuckle vines growing over the fence are starting to turn green. There is bright green moss on a lot of things but that's because of the rain.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 02:49 PM

Three years ago in the spring I dug up a beautiful huge spiderwort in the woods across the road from my house. I planted it in the front bed and forgot about it, but every spring it comes back and is glorius. It has just this week emerged and started blooming. There are some small flowers that come up in the lawn later on that are spiderwort also, but this is a large plant, a couple of feet tall and blooms and blooms and blooms. Each individual flower lasts a day, but it keeps putting out new buds. I wish I could find more or cultivate this one. It doesn't seem to spread.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: gnu
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 02:58 PM

April showers bring May flowers. Here in SE New Brunswick, Canada, we are having April showers. No way these are March showers. I'm just thankful for the early spring because we've had 3 to 4 inches of rain in the past 24h and it could have been snow instead.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Alaska Mike
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 03:41 PM

We got about 10" of snow yesterday, March 28th, 150 car accidents around town, 1/2 inch thick ice on my windshield this morning which took forever to clear, and (the very worst thing) I had to put my sandals away for a few more days. Damn!! Here's the local paper website, has some "cool" pictures if you look today.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: CarolC
Date: 29 Mar 05 - 06:20 PM

Southish eastern Alabama, USA. Today is my favorite kind of weather. Sunny and clear, no humidity, and between 75 and 80 degrees F.

Even the sycamore is blooming now. The Chattahoochee River is almost at flood stage and threatens to submerge the riverwalk. Leftovers from storms up in the northern part of the state, I guess.

There is a bird that hangs out in one of our trees in the mornings, I'm guessing it's a mockingbird, that has taken to learning a new call every week or so and using that one call repeatedly until moving on to a new one. One week it was immitating a cat (it definitely wasn't a catbird because I know what they sound like and this was different... it wasn't a cat, either). Another week it was immitating a dog. This morning it was immitating a bobwhite quail (I know it wasn't a realy bobwhite quail because it didn't sound exactly right, it was morning, and I've never heard a bobwhite quail around here). I have no idea where this bird heard that particular call.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Essex Girl
Date: 30 Mar 05 - 07:31 AM

LTS, If I'm coming over your way in the next couple of weeks I'll try to drop some off, that is if it hasn't been eaten by the fish, although they don't seem to be touching it yet. Arrived home from Miskin on Monday, to a glorious spring evening and started planning what I need to do in the garden.Then yesterday cold, wet and very dull with a temperature of 6 degrees. Oh well at least we had fine weather over the weekend, and we should have lighter evenings now.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Tinker
Date: 30 Mar 05 - 07:50 AM

Here in New Jersey we've got 48 hours of wonderful weather ahead. I woke up to 48F and it's supposed to hit 60F today. I should be able to spend some time in the yard seeing just what is happening. Everything is still very soggy, but I can at least clean up a little bit... Bobert's Iris I took home from Getaway came through the winter wonderfully, I'm not sure when I would see signs of the Solomon's Seal...anyone know??

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: gnu
Date: 30 Mar 05 - 07:54 AM

SOB!! When will I learn to keep my mouth shut? That's right, even though it's not suppose to amount to much, it's blowing snow out there and there's a nice coating of ice on everthing.

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: GUEST,Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Mar 05 - 10:44 AM

Carol, we've had a couple of impressario mockingbirds in our neighborhood in recent years. There is one little guy who perches on the top of my next-door neighbor's ham radio tower and sings his heart out. The whole routine takes about 10 minutes and includes seagulls, hawks, and car alarms. He sings for 30 seconds or so then jumps about 18 inches above the tower and reversed his direction and continues the song. He has the neighborhood covered that way!

Cardinals are passing through now. And robins are still here. Both will move on soon.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: Flash Company
Date: 14 Apr 05 - 07:28 AM

My pear tree is now in full blossom, The tree is, I guess, a hundred years old, it was certainly here in 1908 when the house was built.
If I can figure out how to post a photo of it I will do that, it deserves to be seen!

FC

PS By the way, the pears are almoes inedible FC

Subject: RE: BS: Spring !!! (Supposedly.)
From: gnu
Date: 14 Apr 05 - 01:04 PM

FC... pruning can improve the fruit but it may detract from the looks. My experience is with with apple trees... it's difficult to get a good balance, especially with a tree over 30 years old. While orchards look great, even pruned, a tree or two pruned for fruit bearing may not look so great.