last third of march and the second full day of spring

we've already discussed that the daffodils are significantly early and that the asparaagus is on schedule...

there was a dusting of snow this morning and although it has warmed this afternoon, temperatures will be below freezing at night over the next few days...

so the mooseberry bush has stalled...

i did not see a fully opened russian olive blooms until april seventh last year...these began opening yesterday so that leaves us seventeen days earlier this year...

marigold and i were rooting around in the jerusalem artichoke bed and we found...

well..roots...this one had sprouted them in three places...

and this ...

had just the one...

these have been breaking soil surface in the first week of may and rooting in march may simply be part of that timeline...the only way to tell is to keep an eye on them and see what pops up and when...so far it is about a fifty/fifty split between on time and early...we will see how that holds.

what's up

not all that much actually...however there are some notes of interest...

it has been unnaturally warm ( or the new naturally warm ) so far this year and, while my thermometer doesn't show a record breaking temeprature ( seventy-seven degrees fahrenheit ) it is considerably above the average ( i know, averages lie ) of forty-six...what impact this has had i am uncertain...temperature or day length?

the daffodils are in full bloom signifcantly earlier than last season's march thirtieth...

the strawberries are evincing new growth...however thay have been green all winter...

last year the mooseberry bush (high bush cranberry for those of you who did not grow up with rocky and bullwinkle ) was not this far along until the fifth of april...

jerusalem artichokes usually come up in early may...this one looks like it is satrting to produce a root and i will be keeping an eye on it to see what transpires and when...

finally, there was no asparagus up in this bed when i checked two days ago, however there is today...and this is on schedule...so..a mash-up of early, on time, and uncertain start times...we'll see.

the ninth day of spring

and things are, not unexpectedly, fairly quiet...

a day off ( one of many of late...we could veer off into a discussion of the economy here...but that seems off topic ) so i drove out to campus just to check on things...expectations were low and were easily met...

i opened the asparagus bed last trip out, however i wasn't thinking there would be any spears up just yet...next month seems to be the time for that...

the alfalfa is doing just fine however...it will run wild soon enough...thinking spring garlic and some spuds will be going in out here later in the spring ( garlic first...then some potaotoes )...my beds wil be planted by the end of next month...

out in my back yard there is a marked lack of asparagus spears as well...the berry plants are verdant though...

here too, the new alfalfa i planted is coming along well...

with the exception of the wheat i planted on top of a comppost pile last autumn...

the winter wheat is looking rather disconsolate...there is no sign of spring wheat yet...it has been a bit on the cool side here early this spring...germinating will be a minute...

on the other hand, there are clear signs of ramps in the ramp bed...

and a rather large population of dafodils are leading off the parade of blooms out there...must be spring.

first bee

found a mason bee on a daffodil in the front yard...my day is a better place.

different sort of composting ( for me anyway )

i have a compost bin and tumbler out back that i have used for a number of years to generate compost so it isn't entirely foreign to me...

recently. however, a source of horse manure has become available to me and this is a project of a different color since it is a new process ( although not that much different )...

so, using materials on hand, i cobbled ( and cobbled is the only adjective to describe it ) together a sort of bin..if this goes well we will invest time and lumber in a more worthy bin...for now we are being cheap...or frugal...your call...

after the bin had progressed to the point it looked as if it might stay up i laid down a layer of straw...

then a layer of manure topped with some compost from a bin just to get things sttarted...

a process i repeated until the "bin" was full...

the compost from the bin was moist and the manure seemed relatively "fresh" so i did not moisten the pile...there is rain in the forecast however, so i covered it with a tarp so it does not become sodden...tomorrow i will begin turning the pile daily for a while until i get a handle on the process...if this works out the community garden may be as fertile as the yard...

i would call that forecast rain a harbinger of a nascent spring if it hadn't been raining here all winter...there are growing signs of spring out there though...the strawberries are greening up...

and the daffodils are moving along...

i can even see some buds.

wake up call?

well...not for the ramps....that is a certainty...

and it may yet be early all around...still...warmer temperatures...

has the snow in retreat from the strawberries in the beds...

and in the bed of my truck...

admittedly the established egyptian walking onions and the ones coming in from last year's areal bulbs have stayed green all winter...which is why something has been browsing them despite the fact they are onions...

however stumpy's dryad/s saddles seem to be expanding...

it appears moles are on the move hunting mu worms...

there is clear movement among the maple tree buds...

and if those aren't daffodils coming up i will eat my hat with no salt...winter may not be over but they are collecting sap from the sugar maples at the county park down by the river...the signs are pointing towards the end of this particular edition of winter...plans are fulminating.