Signs of Spring

(Flowers from my mother, to celebrate the occasion.)

My handsome Son bought me an extremely nice, ergonomic pruner for my March birthday. Many time he buys me mulch, quoting my "Mulch is always the perfect gift" saying and demurring that there is just too much snow for mulch this year. I still have over a foot most places in my garden and snowbanks in places of 8' to 10'. Yes, FEET! (Thanks to my neighbors feeling it's "okay" to pile their snow in my yard...)

We have a lot more light. This alone, I think is responsible for buds swelling on my lilacs and viburnum. The quantity of light is also bringing the impatiens, gerbera, fuschia, and nicotiana saved for cuttings and left to languish in my south-facing windows back into bloom.

On sunny days, although still cold (barely 30 degrees, typically) I feel more like getting out to the garden to finish up my winter pruning. Pruning made nicer by the gift of the pruners.

What I have not done is prune back the grapes. Typically, here, it is done the last weekend in March. I can't even see the bottom section of my grapes, let alone enough of them to prune! We have so much snow.

Also I have been running the risk of parking on my street overnight. We have a ban from November 1 through April 1 on on-street parking. Unfortunately, my parking space is a sheet of ice over a pond in my drive as the ground is frozen. Even though I can't see around the piles of snow at the curb and at corners in the village, technically I can't be ticketed after Monday.

Even if winter holds on-- no risk of tickets! Yay! (Unless the Village Board declares a Snow Emergency on April 3rd...)