Spring

Gravel wash at the end of the horse run, where the runoff creek joins the big creek in the background.

Let's see what we have here:

• A foot of snow last Saturday - check.
• Snow again on Monday and Tuesday - check.
• Below zero temperature this morning - check.

It must be Spring in New York.

New York is the new North Pole. What global warming. On the 4th of July let's go skiing. Jokes have been circulating on the general topic of this lingering winter but the faces telling them are growing tauter. Quite a change when December and early January were promising a year of little snow, balmy days, and no white in Christmas.

It was in the 60's a week ago, with rain quickly eroding the berms of snow. Patches of turf were emerging and the trees were shimmying out of their slips of white. Robins were back and a mob of red-winged blackbirds were out-hustling the Jays at the feeder. The angle of the sun is greater and its light more intense. The blues of the sky have been amazing, approaching royal in color, with clarity as if filtered through diatomaceous earth.

Spring is here, it's just taking a bit more time than usual. I am learning greater patience and will try very hard not to be envious as gardeners in the rest of the nation are growing into the new season.

Narcissus Pictures

Narcissus 'Hawera' - miniatures division
Blooms are small but their sheer numbers create an absolute froth of flowers. I've always found light yellow to be one of the most appealing garden colors and 'Hawera' provides it in abundance.

We've been glorying in the mid fifties (62 today) that have been lulling us into thinking spring has finally arrived. Was it really only last Friday that -12 degrees greeted us in the morning? It already seems long ago but the specter of cold is never too far and winter is sure to drop a few more snow flurries and sleet storms, even a nor'easter, before we leave winter behind. We can't help but luxuriate in the current warmth and feel unencumbered but naked without our hats and mittens.

Not much to report but I did hear a Red-winged Blackbird this morning, a sure sign of spring in these parts. Here are a few pictures that will always remind me of spring no matter where I'm living. Like in my March Header post, all of these daffodils were grown in nursery containers.

Narcissus 'Manly' - doubles division

Absolutely huge double flowers that command attention. I'm not loving some of the newest double varieties wherein the trumpet is mult-petaled and prefer ones with multiple perianths like 'Manly'. Also in the picture is 'Bridal Crown', an older variety with double flowers. I won't be growing 'Bridal Crown' again as the petals never fully unfurled and the color was dull, dirty, and indistinct.

Narcissus 'Thalia' - triandrus division

Late flowering, pristine white, always 2 or more flowers per stem, and hardy in zones 4-9 are why this variety is my favorite of all daffodils.