I Know Spring is Coming

Past visitor                  photo by Karen

I know it's only the 2nd week in February and it's still cold most days and lots of the country is getting bombarded with more and more snow, but I know spring is really just around the corner.  It officially starts in a little less than 6 weeks (groundhog be damned!!!) but I have seen the signs that it IS almost here.

1. THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER
2. FOUR WEEKS TILL DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
3. BUDS ON THE TREES AND SHRUBS ARE SWELLING
4. SQUIRRELS ARE STARTING TO EAT THOSE BUDS
5. GARDEN CATALOGS ARE FILLING MY MAILBOX
6. THE BIG BOX STORES ARE SETTING UP
7. I'M GETTING REALLY ANTSY WITH CABIN FEVER

Let me expound on my points above:

   Each day we are adding 2 to 4 minutes of sunlight.  Doesn't sound like much but when one considers the sun was setting here at 4:44 just 5 weeks ago it is now setting around 5:33.  That's a lot more sunlight in the late afternoon.  Being dark in the morning isn't that big a deal, but more light late in the day, that is great.  I know Daylight Savings time will add a whole other hour to the sunset and kill an hour of light in the morning but that extra hour of evening light light means no more walking after work in the dark and more time for wandering around my yard.  And IF we get a snowstorm, the extra hour of light while the temperatures are at their highest means the snow will not hang around. And that is a good thing.

   If one looks at the trees and the shrubs in the area, it's easy to see that many of the buds are getting fatter and fatter.  The maple trees are getting their red color to their buds and the forsythia is swelling to the point where the yellow flowers will be blooming sooner than later.  The rose plants are showing signs of breaking their dormancy and need for pruning.  And many of the perennials are just starting to pop out of the previously frozen ground and show signs of renewed life.  But alas the hungry squirrels see these swelling buds and have something new to eat this late in the winter.  Another unique phenomena of the oncoming spring is the heaving that takes place in the garden.  Since the plants go through warm and cold days when the ground alternately freezes and thaws, many of the plants lift out of the ground.  This is called heaving.   The best thing to do is when the ground is moist and soft, just gently push the plant back into the ground.  I can see real signs of the heaving effect by looking at my garden flower labels.  They pop out of the ground, they lay down or get tilted in the weirdest angles.

   To the dismay of my mail carrier, my mailbox gets filled with garden catalogs at this time of year.  They are beautiful works depicting gorgeous flowers (at full maturity) done by masterful marketers.  One can't help but go through the catalogs and make selections of plants and flowers needed for the garden.  I find it hard to resist but I must.  I do order from several online and mail order companies, who seem to inturn, sell my name and address to a dozen more companies and on and on.  I keep many of the catalogs for reference as they are filled with tons of great info but have to pitch many in the recycle bin.  Too many catalogs equals too many orders.   The advent of the internet has both helped and hindered many of these companies.   Where once they had only other catalogs as competition, now one can just Google a flower or plant and find tons of info and sources.

   Along with the onslaught of catalogs, all one has to do is go into a Big Box store like Home Depot, WalMart, Lowes, etc.....and see the shelves are being converted to spring.  Seed starting supplies and packages are the first things on sale, followed by fertilizers, bug controls, weed suppressants, and on and on. It's fun just to walk the aisles and ponder spring's arrival.

   And finally, the most obvious way I know spring is close, is the fact that I am really getting antsy and sick of this cabin fever.  I know, it hasn't been a bad winter here in Baltimore, and I feel the worst is really over, but any day where the temperature is bearable and the skies are mostly clear, is a day I want to get out there and start my "work".  I raked leftover leaves yesterday and I want to do more.  

    I need to be patient, but I know spring is just around the corner!!!!

Soon!!!!!!                    photo by Karen

Subscribe in a reader