April Is The Cruelest Month

A patch of glory-of-snow that popped up on the wild edge of the yard.

If April was a person and I was her boss, I’d fire her. She did a lousy job. In fact, I think she never showed up for work at all, but sent her friend January in her place. I’m pretty sure April was from Canada. The last insult April threw at us, after teasing us with a few warm and sunny days, was to slap us with snow today. It didn’t amount to anything, but it was a mean parting punch. Yes April, you’re fired. I’m hiring May to take your place.

Here at last, with lovely May a few days away, it seems that spring might finally take hold. The jet stream is shifting and after today, there is no more snow in the forecast. The world is greening. The trees are budding. The peepers have come out in force and sing to us every evening now. The birds are busy building nests.

Last Monday was a good day. The weather was perfect and I was not called in to school. I spent the day in the garden. I weeded and raked and hauled stones. My body is winter weak. I’m not used to hard garden work and I felt it after that. I ached for a few days. But that didn’t stop me from doing more of the same on Tuesday. I love to work in the garden and soon I will be in shape again.

Part of the long flower bed after a day's hard work.

Tiny tete-a-tete daffodils in the woodland garden.

We had our mower in the shop for its annual checkup – blades sharpened, oil changed, all that. It was returned to us on Tuesday and that evening I mowed for the first time this year. The grass isn’t revived enough to really need mowing. I mowed up all the winter debris – twigs, leaves, pine cones, and maple sprouts. Yes, maple sprouts. Last spring the maple trees bloomed and in the fall they dropped millions of spinner seeds that are now sprouting in the lawn, the flower beds, and even on the roof and in the rain gutters. I’ll be mowing down and pulling out maple sprouts all spring long.

Stacey and I made a quick trip down to Pittsburgh over the weekend. We left on Friday after work. We went down to pick up Miriam, who flew in to Pittsburgh from Utah on Thursday, and bring her home. It’s about a four hour drive down. As we drove south we were amazed to see how spring advanced the further we drove. First we noticed the forsythia bushes in bloom – ours haven’t bloomed yet. Then tulips and daffodils – our daffodils are just starting and tulips have barely begun to bud. Then there were fruit trees and redbud trees and magnolia trees in bloom. Redbud and magnolia trees won’t even grow where we live. We arrived at the Thayn’s house at 9:00 p.m., had a quick, late dinner, sat and talked a while, and then went to bed.

Saturday morning we went to the used bulb sale at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. We’d never been to the used bulb sale before and didn’t know what to expect. We got there early (we thought) and there was already a long line of people waiting. They’d brought lots of sacks and baskets and totes with them – some even had wheelbarrows. We just brought a bag with us. When they opened the gate, everyone rushed into the tent and began grabbing up potted bulbs. There were lilies, hyacinths, and daffodils that had been on display inside the huge greenhouses. The hyacinths were snatched up in an instant. We fought our way through the crowd and ended up with sixteen pots of assorted lilies and daffodils – eight for us, eight for the Thayns. It was quite an experience. We will be better prepared the next time we do that.

At the used bulb sale.

Hazel and June by a fragrant viburnum bush at the Phipps.

Daffodils at the Phipps.

Tulips at the Phipps.

From there, we went to the Heinz History Museum. There were some great displays there of Pittsburgh history. We loved the Heinz exhibits and especially the Mr. Rogers exhibit. After the museum, the Thayns took us to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Stacey and I don’t eat out much and it was a real treat. The food was delicious.

At the Heinz History Museum.

On a trolley display at the museum.

Hazel at the Heinz exhibit.

King Friday's castle.

Miriam at the Mr. Rogers exhibit.

Lunch!

After lunch we drove out to Jeannette to see the Thayn’s new house. It is a great house and they are very excited to move in. Their escrow closes later in May. Rachel walked us through the rooms and told us her ideas for each room. I walked around their yard and discussed plans for gardens. It will be a great home for them.

The Thayn's new house - front side.

From the back.

The Thayn family.

From there, Stacey, Miriam, and I drove home. We got home at 8:00 last night. It was a very short trip. We hope to go down again at Memorial Day and stay a little longer.

Daniel was supposed to come home with Miriam, but that didn’t happen. He plans to come sometime later in the spring. I was looking forward to having him here to help me work on my Big Projects. I have quite a list of them: build the greenhouse, build new raised bed boxes, replace the picket fence (the old one is rotten), extend the chicken yard, clean the barn, repair the front porch steps. Some of those projects will not wait. They need to be done as soon a possible before we get too far into the growing season. It looks like Miriam and I will have to do them. The weather will be warmer this week, so we can get started.

It’s chilly today. The thermometer reads 38° as I sit here. The snow that was falling as we drove to church this morning didn’t stick and there’s no sign of any of it now. I’m glad for that. But still, it’s too cold for the penultimate day of April. We are tired from our long hours spent in the car over the weekend. When lunch and chores are done, we will definitely take a good nap. I think Miriam skipped lunch and went straight for the nap already. I suppose I ought to build a fire in the wood stove to take away the chill, but my heart rebels at the thought. So instead I’ll tweak the thermostat up on the furnace and wrap up in a blanket and wait for warmer days.