The weather was predictably temperamental last week, flipping from cold to colder, rain to snow. Today it’s as mild as a fine spring day. By midweek it’s supposed to be snowing again. But March is upon us and with it comes a brighter hope that spring will soon be here. I say that, but I know that March can be a very disappointing month. It is mostly a lion with very little of the lamb about it. Foolishly, I find myself expecting spring. The calendar says it will arrive on the 20th, but it seldom happens that way. Some of our worst winter storms come in March. Still, I can at least hope for a few flowers by Easter.
On Monday Josiah was up in the trees again. He climbed the big maple tree in the woodland garden and pulled down a lot of dead branches. I don’t know where he gets his ability to climb – he certainly didn’t get it from me. We’ve piled all the dead wood out near the fire pit beside the poor old Christmas tree waiting for a dry day to have our first fire of the year.
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| Josiah up a tree. |
Toward the end of the week, some of the things I ordered back on Seed Ordering Day began to arrive. It was exciting to come home from school and see what packages were waiting for me in the mailbox or on the front porch. One day there were flower and vegetable seeds – larkspur, marigolds, the purple petunias that will grow in my window boxes, the Japanese squash (black futsu and red kuri) I’m growing for the first time. One day a heavy box was there with the organic sprays I will use in the orchard – sprays with impressive names like fish hydrolysate, neem oil, liquid kelp, and Probiotic EM-1. And on Friday, one of my most anticipated purchases was waiting there on the front porch – the scythe I will use to mow the orchard from now on. Josiah and I eagerly unpacked it and assembled it. It is a lovely thing, one of those tools that feels nice in my hands, simple and yet powerful. It is an ancient tool and the parts of it have ancient sounding names – the snath, the grass blade, the peening jig, the whetstone (with its holster!). I can hardly wait to use it. That won’t happen until sometime in late May.
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| My new scythe. |
Indoors there are flowers forming right now. Certain of my houseplants always bloom with perfect timing just as the worst of my winter discontent has set in. Four of my orchids have buds on them. Three of my amaryllis are in bud. One of my four clivias has its first flowers and the other three will soon follow. It makes me so happy to see flowers in February. About the time my houseplants are done blooming, there should be flowers in my gardens outdoors.
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| Orchid buds. |
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| Amaryllis buds. |
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| The first of the clivia flowers. |
Last week a dear friend of ours passed away after a valiant fight against cancer. Nikki was a great lady. Our friendship with her changed our lives. I can’t begin to count the many deeds of kindness she and her husband Bob have blessed us with. We will miss her. How thankful I am to know that through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ that death has no victory over us. We will be delivered from death and our friendships can extend to eternity. We will see Nikki again.
There is a strong warm wind blowing today and with the wind has come signs of the coming of spring and the rebirth of the earth. Before we left for church this morning, I looked out the window and there were red-winged blackbirds at the feeder! A very happy sight! They are the first birds to return, arriving even before the robins. After church Josiah and I took a stroll around the yard. There are more snowdrops in the bed along the front of the house. The bees are taking advantage of the warmth to stretch their wings and make cleansing flights over the orchard. As we walked, we heard red-winged blackbirds singing from somewhere down by the beaver pond. And, although I didn’t see it, I heard a robin singing in the trees across the road. I know the warm wind will not last long. There are still some snowy days ahead, but it will not last. Spring will come.
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| More snowdrops. |
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| The bees (you have to look hard, but they're there). |
