Ribbit

Today we went for a springy walk in Loantaka Brook Reservation, and the highlight was passing a little swampy area where some frogs were making a racket. The funny thing was that when we passed by again later, they were all quiet! It's all about good timing.

The frog in this picture is hard to see, but it's more or less in the middle, below that lumpy bit. His nose is pointed toward the lumpy bit. Below is the close-up:

Springing to life

Crocuses! Alliums! Birdies! And weeds.

Check out my transplanted allium from the back yard! Remember that? https://aylwardgarden.blogspot.com/2018/10/barely-scratching-surface.html

The first crocus bloomed on the 15th. A few more have since joined this fellow, by the front steps.

This has not happened in years past, but this particular weed is ALLLL over my garden right now.

I know you hunger for my blurry pictures of birds, so I won't disappoint. Mourning doves.

Seeds in mini-greenhouses

Convinced that spring is really coming, someday, despite Punxatawny Phil's misprognostication, Emma and I did our yearly planting of seeds in mini-greenhouses. They'll weather the rest of the winter outside, and hopefully sprout when the weather warms. To repeat, we are sure this will happen...someday.

Mixing potting mix with water

Heating a sharp tool over the stove

Poking holes in yogurt containers (top and bottom) with heated sharp tool

We planted marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, bell peppers, and mini bell peppers from new seed packets, plus some other types of plants from seeds left over from last year.

So much winter

The last few weeks have featured a lot of snow and ice, although I must confess I missed some of it because I was warm and deliriously happy on the other side of the world.

On Feb. 20th, we got a snowstorm that featured a brief whiteout.

I was not amused.

The next day, we had ice that covered everything, and was very beautiful, but a slippery mess on the sidewalks and roads.

The deer were undeterred by the ice, of course. Are deer ever deterred by anything?

And today, back from my trip all too briefly, we got a dumping of snow.

I took this picture at dawn, because jet lag.