spring more off than on, so far
For the last ten days, I have been staying mostly out at Red-bird Ridge, so I have saved up several days worth of notes till I had time on the internet:
20 Feb
winter honeysuckle full bloom
quince has fat buds, a couple open
Mahonia is as pretty as it ever is, in ‘full flower’
elms in fl but probably hurt by freeze
chickasaw plum buds size of ball pin heads
no henbit or veronica; but there are dandelions, some peppergrass, and a comp with little closed yellow cylindrical fls - rosettes with 9” stems
7pm, frogs singing
21 Feb
thunderstorm 8:30 am
50°s or 60°, very humid
norther 4pm, lower 30°s overnight
The ephemeral drainage stream is chuckling & gurgling over its waterfalls around the old cookstove erosion control
Matt’s corner up to the corral is all marshy; from corner south to Oakridge Lane it’s dry except that a culvert and a little earthwork are needed by the roughleaved dogwoods.
There are two dozen bees in the winter honeysuckle.
23 Feb
36°, cloudy at noon just like yesterday. ready for SPRING!
24 Feb - ditto
26 Feb
Cloudy and chilly all week -it FELT chilly even if maybe it got up to 50. Friday morning a tiny bit of sun around 8 am. But then cold front came in, misty drizzle mixed with a bit of snow and getting colder all through benthic collection -- miserable. There was a mockingbird singing away in the shrubbery by the EESAT doors when I went in, but he changed his mind.
Alabaster got out into garage and under door and gone, about 8pm, but showed up on DR windowsill a while later and condescended to come in. Fire in kitchen is not nearly as warm as in living room. The beautiful cantilevered masonry construction just SUCKS up heat. The living room shallow firebox, the convection tubes, and the wood floor all contribute to a much warmer experience.
27 Feb, Saturday
Cloudless sky, up in 50s well before noon, as if yesterday had never been!
Monday March 1
So much for that little tiny hint of spring. Sunday was cloudy all day though not cold, but certainly not the 70° it got to on Saturday! Then in the wee hours this morning it set in to rain, and it has been cloudy, 40°, and raining unceasingly today (3pm now). Chilly and miserable. Marmalade cooking inside; that smells sunny at least.
Aside from the elms, that seem to have survived getting snow on their flowers, there seems to be nothing native in bloom yet. The chickasaw plums are getting closer. The appearance of the plum thickets, seen at a distance, is altered by all the fat little light-colored buds clustered along the stems.
In the grass yesterday or Saturday I have seen henbit, peppergrass and a little long-podded white-flowered crucifer, chickweed, dandelions of course and another little yellow composite. Out in the pasture in the very short-nibbled areas are tiny bluets. The japonicas are coming out, and the winter honeysuckle is in very full bloom with a good number of bees, at least in the sun on Saturday. The last one went home about 6pm. I didn’t see any in the cloudy weather yesterday, but I didn’t look till after 5pm.
Oh, yes, and there are daffodils! One of the February Golds in the yard has come out, triumphing over overcrowding and yaupon shade. And there are three spiky-petaled pale ones Kristi Heckman must have planted, around the young oak outside the shop.
Yesterday afternoon the puddles in the road and the marshy area in the woods where we are clearing, north of Matt Moazami’s corner, were about dry. That was then; now they’ll be awash again.
20 Feb
winter honeysuckle full bloom
quince has fat buds, a couple open
Mahonia is as pretty as it ever is, in ‘full flower’
elms in fl but probably hurt by freeze
chickasaw plum buds size of ball pin heads
no henbit or veronica; but there are dandelions, some peppergrass, and a comp with little closed yellow cylindrical fls - rosettes with 9” stems
7pm, frogs singing
21 Feb
thunderstorm 8:30 am
50°s or 60°, very humid
norther 4pm, lower 30°s overnight
The ephemeral drainage stream is chuckling & gurgling over its waterfalls around the old cookstove erosion control
Matt’s corner up to the corral is all marshy; from corner south to Oakridge Lane it’s dry except that a culvert and a little earthwork are needed by the roughleaved dogwoods.
There are two dozen bees in the winter honeysuckle.
23 Feb
36°, cloudy at noon just like yesterday. ready for SPRING!
24 Feb - ditto
26 Feb
Cloudy and chilly all week -it FELT chilly even if maybe it got up to 50. Friday morning a tiny bit of sun around 8 am. But then cold front came in, misty drizzle mixed with a bit of snow and getting colder all through benthic collection -- miserable. There was a mockingbird singing away in the shrubbery by the EESAT doors when I went in, but he changed his mind.
Alabaster got out into garage and under door and gone, about 8pm, but showed up on DR windowsill a while later and condescended to come in. Fire in kitchen is not nearly as warm as in living room. The beautiful cantilevered masonry construction just SUCKS up heat. The living room shallow firebox, the convection tubes, and the wood floor all contribute to a much warmer experience.
27 Feb, Saturday
Cloudless sky, up in 50s well before noon, as if yesterday had never been!
Monday March 1
So much for that little tiny hint of spring. Sunday was cloudy all day though not cold, but certainly not the 70° it got to on Saturday! Then in the wee hours this morning it set in to rain, and it has been cloudy, 40°, and raining unceasingly today (3pm now). Chilly and miserable. Marmalade cooking inside; that smells sunny at least.
Aside from the elms, that seem to have survived getting snow on their flowers, there seems to be nothing native in bloom yet. The chickasaw plums are getting closer. The appearance of the plum thickets, seen at a distance, is altered by all the fat little light-colored buds clustered along the stems.
In the grass yesterday or Saturday I have seen henbit, peppergrass and a little long-podded white-flowered crucifer, chickweed, dandelions of course and another little yellow composite. Out in the pasture in the very short-nibbled areas are tiny bluets. The japonicas are coming out, and the winter honeysuckle is in very full bloom with a good number of bees, at least in the sun on Saturday. The last one went home about 6pm. I didn’t see any in the cloudy weather yesterday, but I didn’t look till after 5pm.
Oh, yes, and there are daffodils! One of the February Golds in the yard has come out, triumphing over overcrowding and yaupon shade. And there are three spiky-petaled pale ones Kristi Heckman must have planted, around the young oak outside the shop.
Yesterday afternoon the puddles in the road and the marshy area in the woods where we are clearing, north of Matt Moazami’s corner, were about dry. That was then; now they’ll be awash again.
posted by AbigailM | 4:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home