Oh, and feck off Old-man Winter, for today is the first full day of spring!
My wife and daughters will tell you that they have likely heard the following story at least two dozen times, maybe more, because I am prone to tell it every year when spring rolls around. But it gives you an idea of how far back my antipathy to winter goes.
On a sunny (but chilly) day many moons ago, when I had about 7 or 8 birthdays under my belt, my parents informed me that it was the first day of spring. I remember feeling ecstatic. Throughout the day I kept running outside to the yard so as to check on how spring was progressing. I kept waiting all day for the weather to warm up, and for the flowers and birds to make their appearance.
It would be an understatement to say that I was highly disappointed with the lack of obvious progress. I recall finding a couple of tiny dandelion blooms scattered in the yard, but I was expecting a lot more. My crestfallen younger self was left to forlornly wonder: WHERE IS SPRING?
My younger self was not aware that spring, like a Southern belle, makes her appearance when she is good and ready and not a minute before.
Truth be told, my excitement on the arrival of the first day of spring has not changed all that much over the ensuing decades. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am now dimly aware that it actually takes time for spring to get fully up to speed. But much like my younger and more naïve self, every year I spend the early spring days anxiously looking for signs of life in my gardens, wondering what plants might have perished from winter’s harsh wrath.
I gnash my teeth when an April snowstorm flattens the daffodils and tulips that were finally started to bloom. I long to put away my jackets and gloves for the season, but the weather just won’t cooperate. And still, after all these years, I am left to wonder: WHERE IS SPRING?
Below are some of the harbingers of spring I have recently spotted. You can see how much growth some of these plants have put on since my last garden post: https://www.mrvintageman.com/signs-of-springs-impending-arrival/
Notice the orange marker flag in the upper middle of the picture. The local cable company isn’t done stomping through the gardens yet.
It’s amazing how dramatic the weather changed when the calendar rolled over to the month of March. February’s weeks of below average temperatures gave way to several of weeks above average temperatures and rainfall instead of snowstorms.
Thanks to the warm and (mostly) dry weather I almost completed the annual garden cleanup before spring even arrived. The snow has disappeared everywhere in my yarden, which enabled me to accomplish so much so quickly.
It’s a good thing I have gotten as far as I have, because the weather took another major swing yesterday, with snow and low temperatures making a savage return. It will probably be some time before I can do much in the garden.
First full day of spring and this is what greeted this morning. In many areas of the country, gardeners woke up to the sights of blooming flowers and listened to the music of songbirds. I, on the other hand, woke up to the sound of snow shovels scraping driveways and sidewalks.
Sigh. And still, after all these years, I am forlornly left to wonder: WHERE IS SPRING?
