I Love Spring

We're enjoying the full effect of spring at Hanshill. We've gone from daffodils to redbud and dogwood trees in bloom. Next came a viburnum which I have dubbed the Amherst county junk-fruit tree. We are not sure of the exact variety. Everything is now incredibly green and fresh. The couple of nights earlier this month when we had freezing temps and frost, the young crepe myrtle trees that we planted three years ago were damaged. We don't know if they will survive. Other trees we have planted are thriving: maple, dogwood, weeping willow.  Our three new rhododendron bushes are in bloom and the new Indian hawthorne and hydrangea bushes are sprouting leaves.

Spring birds have made themselves known: chipping sparrows, robins, towhees, phoebes, and cowbirds (ugh).  Our 20+ goldfinches continue to visit the feeders, with the males now looking spectacular. The white-throated sparrows have not yet departed --- at least not all of them. Wrens are attempting to build a nest in the light fixture on the entry porch. We clean out the debris every day. Bluebirds have laid eggs in 4 houses along our fences. Asparagus is in high season and we are picking it roughly every other day.

Pollen has been quite evident for the past few weeks. We are hoping that the rain of the past couple of days will bring an end to this annual spring "problem." We are ready to pull out the furniture for the eating and drinking porches, but had been waiting for the pollen to finish.

Our grandbaby and her Mama are coming down from Michigan this week to check out the spring conditions first hand. Charlie is in Italy for 3 weeks with the Navy Reserves, so the girls, including Stella the dog, are coming for an extended visit here! Yay!!

Below are some highlights of the last month.

On these first two pics, you may recall that we took a shot from the same angles when we had the big snow back in February.

The house as seen from the pond road near the garden.

Daffodils are all gone now, except from my memory.

The next variety is the latest-blooming one we have. It was planted by Murnie in the 1930s near where she also planted the spider lilies. This is a species daffodil, not a cultivar. (I only recently learned the difference.) The identity is N. Poeticus var. recurvus and it may well be the ancestor of some of the poet's eye cultivars. Here it is in the woods:

And here it is up close:

It has a WONDERFUL smell and is a very pleasing daffodil.

The next few shots show clippings from the "Amherst Co. junk-fruit tree." As I said before, it is believed to be from the viburnum family, but has not yet received positive identification.

The leaves are small.

My sisters gave me some cool vases for my birthday. They look a little bit like crooked chemistry beakers. I have found a couple of neat ways to use them and here is one of those ways.

Spring is my favorite season.

Frosty spring morning

Sure enough ---- the cold weather is not yet totally behind us. We had frost overnight. The front yard looks so pretty this morning having just been mowed.

The cold temperature gave us one more opportunity to enjoy the woodstove this spring.

Another morning a couple of weeks ago, the scenery was totally different. It was foggy and there was lots of moisture in the air. I woke up to a world of little cotton candy balls, or that's what they looked like. Here's one up close.

And here is the pasture. Would you ever know there were so many spider webs just hanging around to be walked through?? That's the roof of the (former) rental cabin in the distance. Enlarge for full effect.

This view is near the tennis court, but across the road. Rather eerie to see! They were all over King Road too, along the roadside.