Vernal Equinox

Spring is finally here on the calendar and we have had a few very nice days, but we should really start seeing trees and shrubs blooming and mild days. I am ready to say goodbye to Winter even though we will have a few frosts and maybe snows yet. One of the things I do to celebrate the Vernal Equinox is burn the all the seed catalogs that have collected over winter. There seems to be fewer each year since most of my orders are now on the internet.

Worm Moon

The full Worm moon is suppose to be a "super moon" since it is near its perigee. It looks beautiful as usual, but otherwise about the same to me. The other good thing is that it is a good "tater" planting sign, fortunately the ground dried out enough for me plant them today. I also got onions, cabbage and broccoli out.

Daylight Savings Time

The above quote about says it all. You can learn more here, if jumping through hoops twice a year isn't enough.

Starting Tomatoes

I always start my tomato plants indoors and then move them outside in "wall o' water" , which are mini-greenhouses. In another 5 weeks or so I'll take the waterwalls down and stake the plants. They will grow up past the gutter of the house (10-12 feet). I get tomatoes about a month early. That may seem ambitious now but just look at the cold frame a month ago (below).

River's Rising

The sign states the obvious ("Road Ends At Water"). However, when the river crests above flood stage on Sunday, the sign will be underwater. It's all about spring and the welcomed rains.

Let the Lenten Season Begin

Daffodils are a sure sign that Spring is on its way. It's another 2 weeks by the calendar and probably also by the weather, but after the long winter the daffodils are a welcome sign. They also signal the beginning of many other spring flowers that are just coming through the ground. No wonder they have inspired great poets like Wordsworth:

"Daffodils" (1804)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).