Calm After the Storm

Five days ago:  Snowstorm.  Yesterday, 80+ degrees.  My bones say that winter is over.  So.... 

Potatoes in today.

Onion bulbs in today. 

Basil sprouting in the greenhouse.

Phlox and PJM rhody starting to bloom.

Tomatoes VERY happy in the greenhouse.  

And it looks like I'll be picking an asparagus in the next day or two. 

Really, now.  Why does this all make me feel so content? 

Melt Down

We ended up with around 15-18 inches of wet, heavy snow.  Lots of big, broken white pine branches on the lawn.  A big, uprooted white pine itself across the driveway.  Bent birches.  And a power outage for about 15 hours. 

Today, sun is shining.  Thermometer reads 47.  Snow is melting fast.  Thankfully, the temps throughout the storm never dipped below 30 degrees, so the fruit trees shouldn't suffer any damage. 

I can't seem to think of any upside to it all.  More water for Lake Champlain, maybe?  Mother Nature reminding us that it's not yet time to plant?  Pruning for the white pines?  Time to stay inside and do laundry? 

By Saturday, in the high 70s, it surely will all be forgotten.  Bring on the pansies. 

The Day the Birds Were Quiet

I didn't hear many songbirds chirping this morning when I walked out to get the paper.  Why?  It was snowing big wet, heavy flakes.  Yesterday, we admired the new lambs and piglets while hiking in 67-degree weather at Shelburne Farms.  Today, we're homebound with at least six inches piled up outside.  

Worried about what this means for the apple blossoms, of course.  Just knocked a bunch of snow off the peonies. 

I'm not really surprised by the snow, but I am surprised by the amount.  It will be gone by the weekend--60s forecasted for Friday and possible 80s on Saturday.  But still...