almost normal

the irises are up out back...crocuses are up...and so is the temperature...a bit unseasonal for the end of march...a portent? last time it was this warm in march we had a summer long drought...one hopes fro something different this time ( and, likely, will get it )...the egyptian walking onions ( fourth photo ) and the garlic ( fifth ) are all happy which is good...i avoided murderous over mulching this past winter and it seems to have helped...scouting out the ramp bed i found there was still only one brave plant broken through the soil ( sixth)...impatiently i dug around a bit and found that it will nor be alone for much longer...the plant in the seventh photo was just fractions of an inch from breaking the soil surface...on a down note, except for a few stragglers the winter wheat bed seems dead...the growth of last autumn did not get enough snow this winter to insulate it from the cold and it seems to have expired...the good news? there's now a bed open for spuds of all sorts...we will get something in there next month...finally the last photo was something i mistook for buttercrunch lettuce or curly kale...however closer examination shows me that the rhubarb has overwintered and has started afresh for the new season...we have new growth in a new season...we expect losses...we will adapt and persevere...something the species may need to ponder soon enough