Sowing the seeds of love

Yesterday was an uncharacteristically lovely February day, in the low sixties. I trimmed the bushes in the front and did some cleanup of dead greenery on perennials, and Emma and I cleaned up a great many sticks that had fallen in some high winds and heavy rain and snow over the past few weeks. And then we started our mini-greenhouses. We only had six yogurt containers on hand so that is how many we started. It might be a little early for this sort of shenanigans anyway, but since seeds are cheap, we've nothing to lose!

The photo shows them today, after their water has condensed.

We planted parsley (still have some of those seeds remaining - there were a lot!), sage, portulaca, poppy, mini bell peppers, and strawflower.

Eleven deer

Eleven! You can't see them all in these pictures, but there were indeed eleven.

Unusually glorious January day

That is all.

Lurking under leaves

I finished raking today!

I found a few things lurking under the leaves.

There were two of these little lizards (although both pictures are of one). Last year I mistakenly identified these as salamanders, but as my dad pointed out when he saw a dead one a couple weeks ago, they have scales. So lizards.

Why are the alliums coming up already (foreground)?! Is this very bad? Is it because the leaves kept the ground warm?
Also the nettles and forget-me-not still look very much alive, despite winter. We'll have more frost later this week so we'll see what happens.

And what are these coming up in front, in my tulip patch? Crocuses from last year, it looks like?

Not pictured: some fat slugs, which were dispatched.

Bulb planting map

I finished planting bulbs ages ago but forgot to post the map.

I am still raking, of course, but the end is near. I probably will have done about 50-60 bags this year when all is said and done. I didn't do the front because we paid someone, so that probably accounts for the difference from last year (75ish), and maybe I got more efficient (I now know to rake when the leaves are damp, because they pack best).

I have started looking for a replacement for the threadleaf coreopsis moonbeam that did so poorly in my back plot last year. I see mixed things about the need for sun among moonshine achillea (yarrow, A. hybrida), and mixed things about deer resistance among shasta daisies. Yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea = Pseudofumaria lutea) seems like it is worth a shot.

Bird sounds

I just discovered this catalog of bird sounds!

http://macaulaylibrary.org

Raking leaves

I took a different approach this year with leaves than I did last year. Last year I started raking in September; this year I waited till end of October or early November. Much better. The leaves are still falling at a crazy rate, so it's not like you get to finish early if you start early. So far we've done about 25 bags' worth. I've been raking a section then mowing it, then tackling a new section some other day.

Did I ever post this picture before, from a public garden? I liked the transition of the bricks from orderly path to garden.