Eeeee...ouuuuu, yick!

We are being attacked by the miller moth, aka Euxoa auxiliarus. The cutworm infestation of the century! It is so bad that we can't go outside without being besieged from every angle. They hide everywhere, under the bonsai planters, in the cushions on the portal, under the door frames, window frames, you name it! Hate the bloody things, but read an interesting article about the fact that they are a major food source for black and grizzly bears! I'm glad. Eat up!

Evidently they have a caloric value of 1 calorie per large moth...yum!

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I need your help identifying these flowers. I lost the tag years ago and there isn't a catalog that I've perused that sells them. What are they called? I love them and they do very well with little care. Please, if you know, let me in on the secret! They seem to be happy with the Sweet Woodruff, too. From which I'm making May wine tomorrow for this weekend's party!

Wheeeeee, taxes done!

 Weeping Crabapple showing off this year. It is the most glorious display we've had in years.

Spring has sprung in the south garden. The tulips mimic the colors of the apple blossoms.

Now to start gardening seriously once again. I'm hoping the cold nights are past and that things will once again begin to grow. We managed to escape the deep freeze the other night and I opted to not cover the apple tree with sheets of row covers! Instead I went outside after it started to get really cold and sprayed the tree with water so that the blossoms were all dampish. Didn't lose a one! We didn't have a single edible apple last year but if we are lucky this should be a bumper crop.

Happy Easter....

Spring is so wonderful.
After a pretty dull winter, in so many ways, it is a joy to have all the new growth appear.This is the section of our multi-apple tree that bears the Orange Pippin which is not really hardy here and so gets very special attention. It is also the first to flower which makes it even more tender as our last frost isn't for another month. Time to get out the tree blanket!

The peas finally decided to make their appearance yesterday and jumped an inch out of the ground. We will also have an abundance of salads this year also. The poppy seeds I scattered just before the big winds in March are up in one case, not in another. Don't know whether to blame the seeds or the wind. Have about two thousand seedlings of the American Legion poppy and none from the multi-colored poppies. Oh well, that's gardening.

Happy Spring wherever you are!

Just wait a minute

It had been in the 70's all week and then yesterday afternoon a front pushed in bringing snow, sleet and rain. Yes! 
We need the moisture so badly and it was the very best kind of a storm as the snow buffered the cold air from the newly formed blossoms. It is now in the 50's and some very interesting things are happening in the vegetable garden. Where the peas are coming up the snow melted in a line just above the emerging shoots. Fascinating.