More Signs of Spring

Even though the weather seems fickle (we had another day off from school last Friday due to icy roads) the rush into Spring is building momentum and there's no turning back! Last week, my youngest son participated in his first band concert at school and it was a wonderful concert to herald Spring.  The Elementary Band did a fine job making music, playing together and keeping time. The concert progressed through Intermediate Band, Advanced Band and a special performance by the Catskill Wind Ensemble and culminated in a grand, soaring finale combining the professional orchestra with the advanced band and even some staff members of the school that left audience members dazed and grateful for such a fine evening of music.

Crocus continue to bloom by color.  First the pale lilac and white ones emerged and now I'm noticing the schoolbus yellow ones popping up. I hope some dark purple ones will surprise me soon. Yesterday, I noticed the tiniest indication of rhubarb plants erupting like new teeth under a swollen gum. Also some daffodils along the stone wall by the old barn site are budded.  They seemed to appear out of the leaf mold overnight!  It's fun to see where daffodils pop up, because I'm not an organized planter, which allows for many Spring surprises.  I'm curious to see where I planted all of Becky's daffodil bulbs last fall!

I took advantage of Sunday's sunny afternoon and continued creating a rock border around my remnant side yard garden. When I finish with the rocks, it'll be time to start hauling wagon loads of compost to fill in the middle garden. 

Pat Stone, editor of the gardening quarterly, GreenPrints, sent me two assignments to work on for the Summer issue. Even though Spring is just about to gain momentum, the publishing world is always several months ahead.So while  I'm digging my toes and hands into the warming Spring soil, I'm also percolating thoughts of Summer.