rain

the temperatures here are seasonably chilly...

and while the rain gauges in the front and back yard do not agree about the quantity ( and it is true that i have not poured a measured amount of water into them to see if the graduations are in sync the identical ones i placed around they yard in years past showed me that rainfall amounts varied across my yard so it is not a surprise ) they both show ample rainfall in the past thirty-six hours or so...and while i have no problem with precipitation and at the risk of waxing aristotelian, the concept of too much of a good thing ( except for cheese ) may be holding true here since it is still raining and the forecast shows no change in the next twenty-four hours or so...so it wasn't much of a shock...

to find the campus garden...while not unchanged, moving slowly with the exception of some human intervention...

that intervention was by way of the trees being planted along thirty-fifth avenue and along washington street...

the rest of the garden is moving along at a more natural rhythm in tune with the weather and the day length...

the asparagus bed is home to twenty-seven spears...some larger, and almost ready to harvest...

and some smaller that have begun to turn green and "fern" to feed the roots...

over in my bed things are reasonably quiet...

the two elmer's blues that have broken surface are showing no signs of bursting into leaf just yet...

and the government spuds are inert...at least on the surface...one presumes the roots are working to lay the groundwork so to speak...

the smaller of the two alfalfa transplants is booming along ( as is the alfalfa in my yard )...

and, while the larger plant has lost considerable green to shock, today i find new growth on the canopy...so there will be a couple of sources of blooms and nesting material for any local leaf cutters...or any other pollinators that happen to wander by...dries. warmer weather should be on the way...unless we are going to be mired in a "little ice age" sort of summer...which would be disturbing but not unheard of...and that should move the spuds along and provide the climate for more planting...we will be seeing soon enough.

spring at the south end of the inland sea

it's april twenty-seventh and that's snow on the east end of the yard...

that's snow by the ramp bed ( and on the ramps )...they do not mind...

their cousins the onions have been green and laughing at cold all winter...

so, for that matter, have the winter rye and wheat...

the daffodils have been through this once already this season...

when i bought the wild strawberries from new york the cover letter said they were "tough little plants"...so i shouldn't be surprised at their hardiness...

this one had some ice on it until someone brushed it off...apparently no harm done...berry to be thrives...

the stolons' full bore effort at bed colonization does not seem to have been blunted wither...i see leaves at stolon's end...time to pin it...

and these critters aren't about to stop because of a little snow either...the simply are not going to stop for much of anything...they're from here...this is home...the forecast says it is back to spring tomorrow...whatever that means.

around back ( with minimal narrative )

wild strawberries in bloom in the south bed...

ramps continue to pop up...

winter rye and winter wheat...

third season asparagus...

second season asparagus...

the trees are waiting

wandered out to the campus garden early this morning to have a look around and found it about as quiet as i had expected...

there was supposed to be campus wide earth day tree planting going on yesterday...the trees arrived..clearly the planters did not ( i had to work which is my reason, although doubtlessly some would term it an "excuse" )...well..the weather was inclement in the morning...perhaps there was a late start...i wonder whose bed they plan on shading...

the asparagus isn't waiting around for anyone...it is booming along...

some is ready to harvest...

some are just breaking surface...

and some are putting their energy into height rather than diameter and are already so close to "ferning" that i do believe they will be left to feed the roots rather than humans...

over in my bed along the periphery things are somewhat quieter..again it is an expected quietude...

the smaller of the transplanted alfalfa plants seems very happy in its new location...green with new growth...moving on from the move...

the larger is still clearly shocked...there is still green however and i am hoping to see a recovery and some new growth in a week or two...

i just planted the spuds last friday and i did not think there would be much of any activity there and i was not disappointed...the spuds were all chitting when i planted them and a couple of the blues have broken surface....and that's about it..nos signs of leaves...or even a tinge of chlorophyll...they will be along in the next few weeks as well...the population will expand as weather warms.