Contrary to popular belief…I haven’t yet lost my marbles….well maybe not all of them. :o) I know it’s still winter, and much of the country is still experiencing the freeze from the polar vortex…
Amazing images from NASA!!
….but I’ve learned that once these guys come out from the mud….
…Spring is springing, spranging, sprunging…it’s knocking, loudly, at the door!!! I recorded this frog song last year in April, so right now they are not singing as loudly, or voraciously, but the brave have emerged and are singing in the early dusk evenings. It’s very exciting, and hopefully, encouraging to my friends out in the Mid-West and on the East Coast…especially to the amazing dogs (Great Danes) and people of the Service Dog Project in MA ( servicedogproject.org ) whom, btw, you can watch live on Explore.org!
OKAY…ENOUGH OF THIS FROSTY, WHITE, COLD STUFF ALREADY!!
Photo by Mark Arimault
With this being our third “emergent of spring-time” season, we think we have discovered a pattern with the onset of the frog songs. They are like our groundhog…our indicator to start planting seeds in the greenhouse (okay, we don’t have a greenhouse yet…but when we do…) and then into the ground in six weeks. We started hearing the frogs about a week ago, so we are going to mark the date of Feb. 23rd, count forward 6 weeks to April 6th, and ready ourselves for planting into the ground during that week. Since the growing season in western Oregon is at least a month shorter than in the San Francisco Bay Area, timing is crucial. My garden of 2012 suffered a lot of damage because I planted just a week or two, too soon. Frost killed much of my garden, and I had to replant which, of course, meant double the costs. My garden wasn’t huge so it wasn’t a big loss. I wrote off the cost of that garden to a very well spent Pacific NW Gardening education…of which, I’m still trying to earn my degree!
Looking forward to these little beauties again!
In the meantime, I’m enjoying our mildly cold, rainy days, watching and listening to the amazingly poetic sounds of numerous types of birds in the tree canopies, and watching the green of the pastureland become more vibrant as everyday passes. This is beautiful country, God’s country, and I am so thankful to be living within it!! When I take the time to sit, look, watch, smell, and listen, I can feel Him, hear Him, see Him…my God, my Savior is here He created all of this, and it is good…it is very good!! Just listen to Benedict…he’ll tell ya!!
Comments on: "It’s Springing Like Crazy!!" (7)
Benedict, you da man!! Thanks SO for mentioning SDP ~ I am sending a SASE to Carlene for some biz cards so I can hand them out to the many peeps I tell about it. She just sent me one of the extra calendars..do you have one? Gawjus! Is it too early for bulb planting? Dahlias say March on..ooo double entendre…I am getting itchy. The perennials that survived the vicious freeze are doing their thang, oh glorious happiness to see heads peeping and buds budding. Eugene’s green is that lovely shade of Spring, too! Just got a humongous statement pot at Costco. Wondering how to take up space in the bottom so my dirt budget doesn’t go into the red. Any ideas? Big hugs and thank you for this FAB blog!
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Hi Ellen!!
Thank you!! I promote SDP wherever I go…it just kind of comes out of me hahahaha! Great idea about the business cards. I did get a second calendar…it was a very nice surprise!! So I asked Tony (the hubby) about your gardening question, ’cause he’s the one with all the landscaping knowledge…I try to implement what I’ve learned from him through the years 😀 Tony said it is too early for the Dahlias up here…they are going to need another 1 – 2 months for real success. As for the humongo statement pot…if there is a hole or holes at the bottom, first put a screen (using landscape fabric) down on the bottom of the pot…then add pea gravel on top of that filling about a third of the way up…then another layer of the landscape fabric….and fill the rest with a good potting or planting soil. This allows the water to drain instead of pool and will protect the roots of your plant. If there are no holes, do the same thing, but also insert a pvc pipe along the inside of the pot..tall enough to go from the bottom of the pot to the top of the soil so that from time to time you can hand pump the stagnant water from the bottom of the pot out. Good luck!!!
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Great advice, Tony – thanks so much! The pot does have a hole so I’ll follow your instructions to the letter. The placement of the pot is decided ergo will not have to try and move it EVER. Will send pics when I decide on the plant design and get ‘er done. Methinks I can plant the bulbs a tad earlier than you but will wait a few weeks. I know about those late frosts hereabouts as well. Grrrr. Right now the ground is defrosting, temps in the 50’s. Daffies all over town! BTW, my sister in Bandon has had a landscaping biz for over 20 years (By The Sea Gardens) and her crew came up here and put my plans into place front and back – nothing but dirt when we bought the house in 2001. I waited 4 looong yrs, to get it done. Since I had before and after pics, I entered a national Costco before and after yard competition – and won 2nd prize!!! Woot!! I can send you some pics if you are interested. The space has evolved a lot, of course – trees are huge now, etc. Great to be chatting with you, can’t wait to meet some time and hug a Dane, too!
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Listen to that Rooster crow !! Love it.
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I love listening to him!! He’s the Best Rooster Ever!!
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