After a week of fairly nice weather, it seems everyone is ready for spring to arrive. It feels good to have the sun upon my face when I go outside and it is wonderful to see the actual ground again. I know it is early and I shouldn't get too excited yet as Old Man Winter could still throw us a few punches.
However, while the weather is nice it gives us a break and we can enjoy a few spring time activities while waiting to see if winter is gone for good.
1. Hang your clothes outside to dry. Since the sun has been shining and it has been over 50 degrees outside, why not use your solar clothes dryer? You will save energy and your clothes will smell so fresh and good. I can remember during the summer as a child, climbing into freshly washed sheets that were dried on the line outside and smelled so good that I would just bury my face into my pillow and take a deep breath. Then my mom got a new dryer and all that ended.
At my house though, that tradition was revived. When my first child arrived in May of 1977, it turned out to be twins and so I spent all summer that year hanging out dozens and dozens of receiving blankets, crib sheets, undershirts and sleepers. Even though I had a dryer, the clothes came off the line smelling so fresh and clean that it was worth the extra effort. Add to that a couple of freshly bathed and powdered baby girls and the sweet smell of the baby and the line dried clothes mixed together was intoxicating to a then new mom.
It is my hope that all 4 of my daughters will have memories of climbing into sheets dried outside on the clothes line and I hope my grandbabies will have memories of visiting Grandma & Grandpa in the mountains and remember how good the sheets smelled when they were tucked into bed while visiting. Drying clothes outside on the line not only saves energy, it makes memories!
2. Get some compost and mulch into your yard. I love working in the yard at this time of year. Mainly because the soil is so moist and easy to dig up. While it is still to early to do a lot of serious planting, it is a great time to add compost to your soil. We sometimes forget that our trees can use some extra nutrients as well as our garden plants. Once you get your soil amended, don't forget to add a layer of mulch to help the soil retain moisture. Well composted soil holds water much better than uncomposted soil and a layer of mulch will not only help retain moisture, but if you use something natural like woodchips, they too will break down into compost over time and add even more nutrients to the soil.
If you are gardening on a budget, don't forget that Pine Cove Water District is giving away FREE bark chips to be used as mulch. We are also giving away one free bag of COMPOST to any Pine Cove Water District customer that comes in an requests one. We want to get everyone off to a good start this spring, so stop by and pick yours up now!
3. Stop water runoff in your yard. Now is also a great time to go out into your yard and add berms and swales to retain and hold water and/or snow runoff. Check your rainspouting for leaks and add rainbarrels to catch the runoff from your roof. This water can then be used later in the year for irrigation. Check for leaks and repair any you find immediately. Winter can be hard on our pipes and our outdoor irrigation systems. Customers are responsible for all the water that runs through their meter, so catching leaks early saves money, time and property. Don't wait until it becomes a major problem that is going to cost thousands of dollars to fix. What is that old saying? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is very true when it comes to keeping your irrigation system in top notch shape.
4. Get a jump start on your fire abatement. I know it is hard to think of fire season when we have just seen the last of the snow melt, but we have to remember it is fire season up here all year round. Take advantage of this nice weather to clean off your roof and get your yard raked up. It is easier to work in this cooler weather than it is to work in 80+ degrees. Plus, if you do it now, while others are scrambling to get their abatement done, you can sit smuggly back with your feet up, sipping on an iced tea, reading a good book. When it comes to fire prevention, you can never do too much or do it too soon. Keeping up with fire abatement makes the job easier than when you let it go for long periods of time and saves you from being cited or fined for not complying.
So even though spring may or may not have sprung, there are still somethings we can get a jump start on. Doing some of your gardening chores now will leave you more free time to play when the nice weather does finally comes to stay.
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