Springtime on the Farm

I love this weather. It’s still cool at nights and the first part of the morning, then warms up in the afternoon, but doesn’t get so HOT as it does later. Unfortunately, this moderate weather usually doesn’t last very long, and we have a very brief bout of spring.

Trees, bushes and flowers are in bloom all over the place! When I walk out our front door, there’s a flower bed with a white pulsatilla and several ajuga in bloom, coral bells and iris with buds not quite open, and several other plants greening up but not yet in bloom.

The pond is scummed over with pollen. Our vehicles turn yellow overnight from all the pollen the trees are puffing out.

We have a row of cherry laurels across the front of the yard blooming.

This is the first year the two dogwoods I planted in the front yard have bloomed. I really like the pink variety.
On the north end of the house, the hostas have got a good growth going, the Lenten Rose is still full of blooms, as is the Viburnum bush.

The honeysuckle (Alabama Crimson Red) is also blooming. I saw a hummingbird enjoying some nectar from the honeysuckle blooms just this morning!

When the wind is right, the sweet smell of the viburnum in the front yard and the lilac in the back yard mingle, and oh! What a heavenly aroma!

It won’t be long until the roses start blooming, and out in the woods, I’ve seen trillium, mayapple, trout lily, and all kinds of wild dogwoods in bloom.

It’s wonderful to see all this color. Later in the year the flowerbeds are still colorful, but when traveling down the road, it’s mostly green that meets the eye, with only a few splashes of color from things like crepe myrtles or butterfly bushes.

I guess I’ll enjoy the plethora of colors and moderate temperatures while they last, and try not to think of the heat to come!

Spring Flowers

After a couple of rainy days, we had some sunshine this morning so I went looking to see if there were any wildflowers out in the woods. I figured it was about time for the trillium to show their faces.

Sure enough, I saw several peeking through last year’s leaves for the first time this year.

There were other wildflowers in evidence also…

And when I got back in our yard, I noticed even the lilac bush is starting to leaf out…

I do believe spring may decide to show up after all this year.

Daffodils

Signs of Spring

When I went outside to do chores this morning I was pleased to see signs of spring. Yes, I know it’s still February, and we have more winter weather to come. Today, however, with 70+ F. temperatures and blossoms starting to appear, it reminds me of spring.

The first bright spot of color I noticed was a dandelion. Come summer, they’ll pollute the place, but for now, it’s nice to see that splash of sunny color in an otherwise cheerless landscape.

The landscape is also pretty in pink as down by the pond, as there is a quince bush starting to bloom. It’s the first bush I notice blooming here in the spring, and is extra special because it came from my dad’s farm in West Virginia. Some of the buds got frost bitten, but others bravely hung on and are opening up.

In the woods I noticed the patches of moss are starting to take on a vibrant green hue in sharp contrast to the drab brown leaves.

But splashes of color aren’t the only signs of spring. There’s also the sounds.. First thing I noticed when I went outside this morning was the spring peepers song. It’s the first day I’ve heard them, and they will get progressively louder. Some nights they make it hard to sleep!

It’s not the picture here that matters – it’s just the boggy area of our bottom pasture, where a spring in the hillside seeps out and the water collects in this low lying area. Nothing much to see, but you can HEAR the spring peepers doing their thing. (Ignore the ever present noise of guineas in the background now and then.)

I know we’ll have more wintry weather, but today is an encouragement I can hold onto. Cause peepers and posies, they’re both a promise of the spring to come.