After a warm weekend (and the first Farmers' Market), we had a couple of mornings of light frost, then got a lot of rain Tuesday and Wednesday in what would have been a spring blizzard if things had been a little colder. After today I think we will probably be frost-free until September, so I will start buying vegetable plants at the Farmers' Markets, not having started any of my own this year. I'm hoping for lots of tomatoes!
Spring has definitely arrived. The tulips are finished, the oak tree has opened its first tiny leaves, and the ash trees which took so much damage in the last hard frosts are timidly starting to leaf out again. It's also lawn mowing time. I did bits of the front yard yesterday, and need to do the back next. Not today, because we got some rain last night, but tomorrow or Saturday before the big storm which is forecast for next week. I just hope that will be all rain and no snow here - it will probably be a spring blizzard in the mountains!
After last weekend's snow and two hard freezes, which did the budding leaves on my ash trees no good at all, the weather has settled down again - 60s and 70s most days. I normally consider my frost-free date here to be mid-May, but we'll see. I hope to get in a good garden this year, after my good neighbor removed the fence-line elm on the south which was shading far too much of my yard and endangering our power lines every time it snowed. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to our local farmers' market which starts the day after Beltane (May Day). Oh, and the hawk which was nesting in the top of the big spruce next door has returned, so I'm seeing less birds at my feeders. The blue jays, however, are not much deterred - I saw a couple of them chasing her the other day!
In the meantime, after several warm days - almost t shirt weather - today it's around 32 F with intermittent light snow. This resulted in a couple of hours of distraction while my orange Ruay cat wanted out, then in, then maybe out - but not in either, etc. He's finally settled, thank goodness. Maybe I can get on with my writing now.
Other impediments to writing progress in the last week have been Oak Leaves (finished now and handed off to the new editor), yard work (mowed the whole back yard yesterday), and taxes (only started, alas). I need to get on to the last item ASAP. In the meantime, the weather is definitely Spring now - only traces of morning frost some days. It's about time!
After some mild spring weather, things have got chilly again, with a little snow night before last and possibly a bit more tonight, before things warm up again next week. Small leaves on some of the trees now, and I actually mowed some of backyard grass. Next week looks good for yard work as well as writing.
In other news, we are progressing into early spring. My little plum tree is blooming beautifully, and some bees have found it. Most of the crocuses I planted last fall didn't survive, however -- the squirrels may have found some of them, but I planted rather late, and the cold dry weather over the winter won't have helped. But the hardy grape hyacinths and violets have started to bloom now.
The weather so far this spring has been mild and dry, with next week expected to be warmer. This is a bit of a worry, since it's still March, and having trees leafing out early might lead to broken branches and power outages if we get heavy snow in April, as we often do. In the meantime, it's been so dry and windy I am going to have to start watering things in my yard. Lots of birds lately though--my birdbath is probably one of the few water sources in my local area.
Mild dry weather the last few days - highs close to 70 F, and mild or no frost - but that's about to change again, with possible snow Tuesday. That's spring in Colorado.
Mild weather here, with even a little rain one night, and my first clump of yellow crocuses is blooming in my yard. The elm trees are blooming as well. It's beginning to be, cautiously, early spring.
