My world looks and feels a lot different than it did even last night. We woke up to snow on the ground and snow and blowing snow in the air. It's cold too - the North Wind is blowing and it feels more like early March than May - But then again Early March this year felt more like May...
Perhaps there is the problem. The snow stopped for awhile this morning when I took this picture, but it is almost noon now, and it is once again snowing heavily with a sharp cold North wind!
This reminds me of a scene in my most favourite book ever - "Years" by La Vyrle Spencer. A young schoolteacher in the 1800's heads off to her one room schoolhouse one May morning. The sun is shining, everything is growing - and before the day is out, a blizzard hits the area that buries the little schoolhouse with snow leaving her and her young students stranded there for a couple of days. One of the residents of the community has taken his horse and wagon out on a trip to town and the blizzard is so severe that he freezes to death out in the Minnesota Prairie, but not before taking his beloved horses' life so he can cut the horse open and crawl inside in a desperate attempt to save his own life.
Well no one is going to have to do that here - but the weather reminds us that we are not in control, as we tend to believe we are. In Northern USA and Canada, snow and yes severe blizzards can happen in May - and rarely but occasionally in early June.
And now - the post I wrote before retiring to bed last night!
As you can see from my last post, I have been spending some much loved time with my camera. At the moment we are sort of fixated on vegetation - not for the lack of other subjects, but just because every day there is a change in my yard that I just don't want to miss.
Happy to say all our heavy landscaping projects are done. We finished seeding the front yard just before the rains started this week, and now even though the temps are bordering cold, yes - even the threat of frost and snow - will all be good for the growth of new grass. The existing grass is much greener now as well - which is so nice to see.
What I am really worried about in this cold spell are my fruit trees. Both my Saskatoon and Plum trees are covered in blossoms ( pictures yesterday are from the Plum tree). I was so excited to see the tree covered in blossoms, especially since I gave it such a severe haircut early this spring, but it hasn't seemed to affect it at all. The bees have been busy working in both trees all week - so the prospect for some fruit was high - until this cold weather hit. We are supposed to get frost the next couple of nights and snow tomorrow.
Darn - I was so looking forward to a big crop of plums this fall to make jams and jellies.
I choose to be stubbornly optimistic about my crop... I AM going to have a good crop... I hope!
In the meantime, while quite a few others have actually planted their vegetable gardens, I have not. I really am getting quite sick and tired of hauling all my plants in and out of the house every morning and evening, but I will keep it up at least until next weekend if I have to.
I visited my cousin's greenhouse on Tuesday and picked up some annual flowers for some of my beds, some more seed potatoes, and 8 crowns of asparagus roots. I am excited about the asparagus, even though I know we won't really have much of a crop for a few years.
While we were there I noticed a Cherry Tree for sale - Zone 2 - perfect for our growing season, I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted to add it to my little orchard or not - until we got home. The next morning I was kicking myself for not getting it - so as hard as it is going to be - we will just have to return to the greenhouse on Sunday to get the Cherry Tree!
Next week when the weather warms up hopefully, I can begin to plant my vegetable garden. I am trying everything this year - and hope for the best. I have moved 25 strawberry plants into the raised bed at the front of the house - let them try and get away from me there!
Now the vegetable garden is a blank slate so this year I am trying a mixture of wide row and single row planting. I have never done this before, but it is an easier way to do true companion planting, so I am told, so I will give it a try.
My yard plans are coming along slowly, I am happy with what we have managed to accomplish so far, but there is still much to do. I have to remind myself that a yard evolves over the years - but waiting as never been something I have have had much success with.
And so it is, here in my little corner of the world. Every morning is a new beginning in this awesome yard of mine. I have two toads this year, quite the handsome ones, I might add. Maybe they are a Mr and Mrs - who knows, I might have kid toads somewhere hiding in the compost pile!
A seasoned county gardener here in town has caught my Mole for me and my elderly neighbour (because it had tunnelled into her yard, I now was a co-owner of said Mole).
The birds of many varieties are first heard at 5:15 am, right outside our bedroom window. Such a beautiful chorus of birdsong, briefly wakes us early every morning, but retirement allows us to roll over and go back to sleep until the sun is actually over the horizon!
Now if the weather would smarten up - everything really would be quite perfect!
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