so spring, already!!

we are having a warm spell and it is torturous. the forecast is for 50's tomorrow and the rest of the week, which should melt the rest of the snow hidden from direct sun, and the birds are riotous. torturous and riotous in the same paragraph - dude. i must be needing some springtime.

i checked on my south-facing slope when i got home today, to see if any little green sprouts were finding their way sun-ward, and yes! there were! and crabgrass - where did that come from?? so i (deep and satisfying sigh) Weeded. the first of the season. i dug under the mulch to the cold dirt and tugged the stubborn grassy roots - the smell of the earth, even this early, is heavenly. ooo, but i miss my garden!

this is a dangerous time for me. mustn't plant seeds too early. mustn't turn the vegetable beds too early. mustn't transplant too early. patience, patience. so i scour my gardening books and Northern Gardener magazine and anything online remotely discussing gardening and plants and flowers and dirt and pH levels and fertilizers and compost.

i have a gardening journal - i document every change i've made to my precious yard since i bought the place 5 years ago. it's a lovely thing to see the progress, to set down in writing my plans so i can see how far i can go. there's always something to do in a garden. maybe this year i'll take a gardening vacation - days off of work to do nothing but garden. heaven!

but for now, i live vicariously through my folks and brother and sister, who live much south-er than i. and patiently wait for the ground to thaw, and the grass to come back, and the bulbs to sprout.

and what do you want to bet it'll snow next week?