Friday, April 12, 2013

Spring things to come......


My twenty dollar used mower is anxious to get out there and level some grass.  I has to grow for a couple of more weeks before I can do that. I have a few sticks to pick up and rough areas in the yard to smooth out.



The sedum actually is just now poking stems and leaves up through the ground.  I will take most of the summer to get the plant to look like this. It was too dry for any blooms to survive so maybe this year it will happen.



My one pink rosebush has life in every stem and the leaves should start to pop out in another week.  It blooms continually all summer so that will be good to see. I need to mulch and fertilize them all which means getting into action in the next couple of weeks.



A friend of mine and his two little boys came to my yard last fall to help with some work. Wesley the youngest little boy found this nest and put it into his bag to take it home with him.  Wesley was four years old and he thought he had a great treasure.  I smile every time I see this photo of the nest. They were so fun to have around and they liked being in my gardens and eating apples off of the trees.



The bee balm is starting to sprout and with that there will be flowers and bees.  I doubt that will be happening for another month.  I hope some of the bees are surviving out there.  The rains have made the iris and tulips pop through with gusto.  It is a good sign as they are in wet soil and a lot of the cracks in the soil are now gone.


The first blooms on tomatoes lets me know that we are almost ready for summer. It takes the major part of spring plus days to get the plants to this stage. The plants that I have started inside need to be repotted into bigger containers.  That will happen in the next few days as I want the roots to spread out and the stems to get bigger and stronger.  I have heard that one needs to have a fan blowing over their plants that are started inside so the stems will develop with strong stems.



Moving the fish back out to the pond should happen in the next few weeks.  I need to clean out the tank of debris and let the rains refill it. I have a new pump for it to use this year.  It will clear up the water and make the fish, birds, raccoons, and squirrels very happy to have clean water to drink.  Barney and the neighbor cats also like to partake of the fishpond water. I haven't been asked to babysit the science rooms fish again this summer but that won't be until May when school is out.

I hope to be able to take a lot more outside shots now with the weather warming and things are growing. Birds continue to migrate through here. Another batch of redwing blackbirds flew through on Sunday and the starlings are also headed north also. The total brown look is almost gone now as the grass turned green about two days ago.  Sunday afternoon and evening was the time of the biggest change.

I am in the middle school Language Arts room today.  Thanks for stopping by today.


3 comments:

Far Side of Fifty said...

Great photos..it gives me hope that spring will come someday. Yes a fan will help the tomatoes to grow stronger..planting them deeper at your next transplant will help too! :)

A Brit in Tennessee said...

I hope you didn't get any of the bad weather moving through the areas yesterday, it always sets back the growing season when things turn cold once again.
Your blooms are so lovely, it's encouraging to know that nature is once again putting forth her best.
Enjoy your day teaching, I would think it is so rewarding to spend the day with a class full of bright and enthusiastic young minds.
~Jo

Anonymous said...

Hi Larry, I really enjoyed your post and photos today AND the new photo of your grandson. He is so alert and sweet.
The new yard is mostly just woods but we think we will purchase a reel lawnmower for the little bit of grass we'll have.
I'm so happy your weather is improving. I know how you love to be outdoors gardening and photographing. I really love the shots of your fish. Hope you both have a lovely weekend.