Ok, who canceled spring?

The snowy weather just keeps on coming.  I have to admit, even though we need all the snow and rain we can get, I am tired of it.  Physically tired.  I am tired of being cold.  My dogs are tired of walking around on the snow and ice to go potty, my husband works outside mostly and he is tired of being cold and wet all day.  We are both tired of shoveling and tired of having snow piled up to our window sills.  I am tired of not being able to open the windows and I am tired of the ever white landscape. I am tired of all the extra coats, boots, sweaters, gloves and hats that are cluttering up my laundry room and snow shovels and snow blowers cluttering up my back porch.

 I think this is the time of the year when cabin fever really sets in .  In January and February, you can tell yourself it is winter and this is to be expected.  But, by the end of March, it is spring and I WANT spring weather.  We have done our time in winter and it is time to reap our reward for making it through yet another cold season.  I want to dig in the dirt, see some green and sit out in the sun without a heavy coat on.  I want daffodils and tulips and yard sales. I want to hang my sheets out on the line.  I want to be outside working in the garden for hours on end.  I want to swap out snow boots and Uggs, for Birkenstocks and Wellies.  I want to play my harp out in the garden on a warm afternoon. I want to  let the gentle breeze waft through the strings and just listen to the song Mother Nature creates.  So much to look forward to....I can hardly wait.

Unfortunately, I will have to wait, as they are calling for more snow tonight!  When will it end?  Too bad we can't bottle some of this cold weather up and use it in July or August when we are having a heat wave, dry spell and feel as if it will never, ever be cool or wet again.  One thing about the weather, it always gives us something to talk about, complain about or rave about.  Be it nice or nasty, we have to take it as it comes.  I guess that is what makes living her in Pine Cove so special.  While is is frustrating now, I know in a few weeks or so we will be rewarded with the most glorious sunny days and cool, crisp, star filled nights.  The trees will leaf out and the lilacs will bloom.  The smell of cedar and pine will perfume the early morning air and we will once again be sure that there is no better place on earth to live.  Our summer time activities will be in full swing and another glorious summer in the mountains will envelope us.  Soon, I hope!

Spring arrives with snow

Well, I knew the weather has been too good to be true.  As spring arrives this Sunday, they are calling for snow.    Up to 11 inches.  While the moisture is fabulous and we can certainly use all we can get, snow in the spring is just cruel and unusual punishment.   I would much prefer it to be in the form of rain, because after all April showers bring May flowers, right?  No where is there a saying about Spring Snow, but what can we do?  We just will have to deal with it and continue to suppress our urge to get outside in the garden.

I noticed some trees are flowering and budding up.  I hate to see this happen.  I always think these plants and trees will acclimate, but they never seem to.  Each year as soon as the weather gets nice, they start to grow or bloom, even if it is only February or March.  Then bam, it snows and they get frozen again.  They never seem to learn or get with the program.  The oak trees seem to be the only ones with enough sense to wait until the end of May before emerging from their long winter nap.  I don't even know if it is possible for other species of plants to acclimate to our climate.  They seem programed to spring to life after a few days of warm weather no matter when it arrives.

So, I guess all we can do is be thankful for the  moisture and take consolation in the fact that spring has to arrive sooner or later and when it does, we will be ever so grateful and excited!

Monday Musings

Welcome to the last week of January 2011. Time is whizzing on by as per usual. Before you know it, spring will be here. All this nice weather isn't helping either as it is really giving me a whopping case of spring fever. I am trying to control my gardening urges as I know winter is not over and I would be fool hardy to even thing about starting to planting things right now. So I console myself with cleaning out the beds, removing fallen branches and needles and planning what I want to do in the garden this spring. It will be hard to go back to winter after several weeks of such nice, mild weather, but I know we aren't done just yet.

If you really can't resist the urge to get out there plant something, bare root trees can be planted during the winter, however, I do not fancy having to go out and water them in the cold, so I stick to fall or spring for my tree planting. But, if you are brave and don't mind doing a little winter watering, you can go ahead and plant a tree right now. Just be mindful that if you do and we do not receive a generous amount of snow or rain, you will have to go out and water that tree in the cold!

At my house, this creates a problem because I have disconnected my hose to prevent my pipes from freezing. Of course, I could always hook it back up, however, the snow from my metal roof slides off right in front of the hose and it doesn't take long until I have a 4 foot high mountain of snow there. I also do not want to be caught with my hose hooked up during a storm and have to scale that mountain to try to disconnect it after it has frozen. So no hose would mean toting buckets of water out into the yard and frankly, it just doesn't seem worth the effort when I can just wait a few more weeks and not have to deal with the snow and cold in the garden. Once I think the worst is over, then I will do some tree planting.

It is easy to forget that even though the weather isn't hot, that sometimes our trees and plants need watered during the winter. A lot depends on how much snow and rain we get and how good your soil is and how well you have mulched. Now is a good time to do that since the snow is gone and the daytime temps are pretty nice. Just remember to water around late morning or early afternoon so the water has a chance to soak in before any freezing could occur. And remember to disconnect your hose when you are done. Covering you outside faucet is a really good idea as well.

Try to avoid planting trees during the heat of the summer. This is probably the worst time to plant, as they will need an excessive amount of water just to stay alive. If you are like me and don't want to brave doing it in the cold, then just opt for spring or fall planting. While you will still have to water, it won't be as frequently since the temperatures won't be as hot. If you plant in the fall, which is really the best time in my opinion, then it isn't long before the snow and the rain helps you along and you don't have to do so much work. Just be sure to check on them and make sure they are getting enough water and supplement them if they need it.

With a little care, we can help our trees make it through the winter months, nice and health. Healthy trees are better able to fight off diseases and make it through the long, dry summer. Now is also a good time to add some compost to the soil and put on a layer of mulch if you haven't already done so. We still have FREE MULCH just for the taking, so stop buy and pick some up. It will slowly decompose and enrich the soil by making a lovely compost and you won't have to do a thing. Mother Nature will take care of it for you. What could be easier?

Frugal Friday!

Here we are at the end of the week already. It is amazing how fast the time seems to fly. I was reading the Winterizing Guide put out by the Town Crier and I noticed there was an article on getting your trees ready for winter. It said a layer of mulch 2 to 3 inches thick is helpful. Well luckily, we still have FREE MULCH! That's right. It is free to anyone here on the hill. Many people have already taken advantage of this, but we would like to see even more people jump on the mulching bandwagon.

Now that we have the first snow under out belt, and it is melting, this is a good time to talk about doing some composting. The ground is a little moist and that makes it perfect to start adding some compost to your trees or garden. I have a very simple method.

You will need a container for your kitchen counter. You can buy a fancy, schmacy one, but I use an old stainless steel mixing bowl and an extra pot lid. As I cook through out the week, everything for the compost goes into the bowl. Onion peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, banana peels and so on. You know the drill. You can even put a little card board in there like the rolls from your toilet tissue.

Once your container is full, go out to your yard and dig a hole large enough to hold the contents of your bowl. Be sure it is deep enough that nothing can come along and dig it up easily. I usually try to go down about a foot or so. Dump the contents of your container into the hole. I then chop it up with the shovel a little bit and then cover with dirt. That's it, you are done. The contents will slowly decompose and provide nutriets for the plants and you can wash out your container and start all over again.

This is a simple, easy, cheap and quick, way to provide wonderful compost for your trees and garden without the hassel of keeping a large compost pile somewhere in your yard.

So there are two things you can start doing right away to help your garden and they will cost you nothing but a little time.