Today, yes, March 14, 2012, not EVEN the Ides of March yet, and it’s going to easily top 70 degrees in St. Cloud. The one snowcover we had (coming in March) is completely gone, last night we saw about 12 robins in the yard, and the sand hill cranes have even arrived. This is grounds for rejoicing, but it’s also just too unusual not to cause a little angst.
Steve and I are going on our “winter trip” next week to New York City. We try to take one trip when it’s not landscaping season. I pushed to get it into April, because then Storm King Art Center and Sculpture Park would be open and I’d love for him to see that place. But he said it would make him too anxious, as certainly it would be time to work on machinery and plant trees in the nursery and get going by April. Well,here it is March 14 and his truck is in the shop to get serviced, inspected and a new logo painted on it, and he’s already had a couple of calls about tree transplanting.
The most alarming thing this thaw is the evidence of the drought. With virtually no precipitation this winter, the pond is shrinking as the ice melts. It’s quite alarming to see the dock’s moorings.
On the upside, I found the grill cover (unusable) that blew off the grill during a storm and a flowerpot. It’s easier to clean things up given the “new” shoreline.
I will be sowing some radishes, lettuce, spinach, peas and kale today– and hopefully seeing some sprouting by the time we return from New York!
I’ve been living in places with mostly two seasons (Florida/California) the past 30 years. Moving back to my hometown (Baltimore) for a while, and may stay elsewhere in the Northeast even longer. Experience all four seasons for a change.
i’ve lived in Atlanta and both Northern and Southern California and really missed the seasons. Had a much better time in Chicago and New York and now Minnesota. I say we Midwesterners really flourish with some resistance! Hope you enjoy your REAL spring!