Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Dreary Pictures, But Hope for Spring

We've had a beautiful day today that almost, nearly, just about got up to 50°.  Tomorrow is supposed to be another day of the same.  Then . . . dum-da-dum-dum . . . snow/rain/sleet/wintery mix starting Thursday into the weekend.  (Does anybody wonder why our area is so sparsely populated?)

But lots and lots of snow has been melting rather gradually because our temperatures haven't been very warm yet.  And that's a good thing considering all the snow we had to melt.


Still, I've never seen our wood working area in the back so wet.  Our land goes up rather steeply for a long ways right behind this area so with the huge amount of melting snow sliding down the hill, I guess we can't expect anything else this year.


My raised garden beds are (for the moment) totally free of snow.  Yayyy!


The pumpkin patch is ready for planting.  (In another month.  Or six weeks.)


All but the very southern most end of the field garden is free of snow.


The pond's ice around the edges has been melting each day, but then freezes over again at night.


This snow pile on the north side of the house has gone down significantly.  Still a ways to go though.


The blueberries (in the foreground) and raspberries (behind) are emerging from their cozy, winter blanket of snow cover.  


A sure sign that I still have faith in spring arriving to the north woods is that I started my first seeds inside today.  I'm sure that seems very late to most of you, but you have to remember I won't be able to set seedlings out in the garden until the middle of July.  I'm kidding!  I hope.


14 comments:

tracy said...

lol I hope you get in sooner than that, up here in SE Alberta we are dry dry dry and cold! we are expecting moisture the next couple days, but we really need it! I will keep my fingers crossed that you can plant before the middle of July!

Myrna said...

Not too much of a stretch to say the middle of July. When we lived on Lake Superior it was into June before it was safe to plant. Often had snow on the ground on the hill behind our house in June.

Mama Pea said...

tracy - Oh, dry and cold is not good! We will warm up (eventually!) and I do so hope you get some much needed moisture!

Mama Pea said...

Myrna - I have such a collection of cold frames and use them every year at the start of the season. I can plant cool weather crops directly in the garden around the first week in June, but need to protect set out plants well into June. I remember one July when we moved a pile of old hay from the side of our barn and found ice under it!

tracy said...

my hubs just got back from a grass fire, there were a few in the county today, so we are praying for the rain to get here!

Mama Pea said...

tracy - We have experienced going into spring many times with the threat of a forest fire so I can empathize with your uncomfortable feelings. I know you would really welcome a good, steady, soaking rain. I'll hope for the best for you.

Sunnybrook Farm said...

Say Hi to Santa for me, he lives next door, right?

Leigh said...

Hurray for those seed starts. Where there's melting snow, there's always hope!

Sue said...

Hooray!! Goodbye snow and GOOD RIDDANCE!

I thought of you yesterday and your belief that any extra snow is free fertilizer---it snowed ( I mean fertilized!!) all day yesterday and temps in the mid 30's. But luckily it didn't stick and the browns are soon going to be greens--yay! We got rid of our last patch of snow in the yard but still have plenty on the south side by the woods. As deep as it got this year, I'm sure we'll still be staring at those piles while we harvest our tomatoes. LOL! Yes-I'm confident we'll have those. Maybe.

Mama Pea said...

Sunnybrook Farm - The jolly old man stops in for coffee frequently. ;o)

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - Although starting seeds inside has never been my favorite thing (I think I need some analysis to figure out why), I must admit it did put me in a spring time mode yesterday!

Mama Pea said...

Sue - You're sounding entirely too chirky these days. Must be the brief tastes of warm weather you've had. Us? We have an absolutely awful forecast for the next few days. 80% chance of snow tomorrow. (I think I need to go find a cup of chirk. Quick.)

Anonymous said...

'Just started seeds here too! After living here in the "subarctic" for many years, we all get an intuition for when we can get out and plant/transplant. The nice thing about places with longer winters is that we get time off to pursue other interests or catch up on indoor projects. And when planting time does manage to come around in-ahem-July, we are ready to start all over again! BTW, there is now only 2 feet of snow to the greenhouse. I'll be in there next week, I truly hope. -M

Mama Pea said...

M - Yes, yes, yes! As much as I do love gardening, I cherish that time off during the winter for all the other things (jobs and leisure!) I want to do. I think we could use a good, steady rain to wash away the rest of the snow, don't you?