We had weeks of 50s during the day and dipping into the mid to low 30s at night. Which is just on the edge of warm enough for tender plants... but not quite. It went on for so long I had started to wonder if it would ever end. My little mudroom was positively stuffed with future plants waiting to be put in the ground, all of them with instructions saying "plant after last danger of frost". So there I was, just waaaiiitttting... and then one day the temps hit 60 and 4 days later they were in the 70s. And now we are back down to 60s. But I have my first sunburns of the year!! And I can (fingers crossed) confidently say that spring has sprung! I got 7 cubic yards of compost.
And I am running around like a pack mule, delivering it to my fruit trees. In the last 2 weeks I have planted 129 roots and bulbs and corms and plants many of which are already shooting up. Which is so very thrilling! I planted 350 seeds and then another 100 several days ago. The clover that I threw recklessly on the ground several months ago is coming up and seems to be surviving! And the 20 types of hot peppers are hardening off nicely!
Many of the fruit trees have started sprouting leaves and flowers. I know that the true test is going to be if they survive the dry spells later this summer. But to actually see things wake up is really exciting! I have been planting so much but to be honest, I have not expected things to actually live. When you plant a dormant tree, you basically stick a twig in the ground. When you plant a bulb, it is just a ball of sorts that you drop in a hole and cover with dirt. I mean there are literally months of opportunities for something to go wrong. What if slugs like Crocuses? What if deer like hyacinths? What if the voles steal my tulips? And then one day... the Giant Snowflakes pop up!
I found a snake while moving straw around. I think he was sleeping happily though because he didn't leave and he didn't try to bite me. He was definitely alive though. Turns out, their aren't venomous snakes here! Coming from CO where it seems like lots of creatures want to kill me, it is a nice change of pace.
Sonka seems to finally have settled in and realized this is her home now. With the warmer weather we have taken up residence on the balcony for morning coffee and although at first she was too alert to sleep, she has decided that naps in the sun are a perfectly reasonable addition to her day.
Which is all to day, spring is here. And the days are longer and the sun is brighter and I need to start wearing sunscreen!