Waking Up

These days, much seems to be waking up with the emergence of Spring. We heard our 1st Northern Crayfish Frogs (Gopher Frogs) this evening. They seem to make their appearance when Spring is a sure thing. Their "snoring sounds" are heard across long distances on the rolling country landscape. Their sounds are not to be mistaken for sleep. They are indeed ready for the Spring.

The constellation Orion, however, is now on the western horizon in the early evening sky. He seems intent upon his Summer Slumber. He is largely absent during the Summer but stays up with us through the long Winter's night. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)

Daffodils are blooming. Rachel and her family gave us these in the fall 2009. We planted them all along the drive. They surely are happy there. The Apricot Tree is in full bloom. While small, it is loaded with blooms. Richard and Melanie noted a Moth on the Apricot Tree. Is this the Critter that will lay eggs whose Larvae burrow into the succulent fruit later in the season? Is this the Critter that we shared the Fruit with last season? Shortly thereafter, Richard could be observed looking through one of our "organic remedies for insects" books. Seedlings are getting bigger. Melanie transplanted 120 Pepper and Tomato Plants on this Fruit Day. They aren't all for us. We will keep about 90 plants and give 30 away at the Seed and Plant Exchange. The whole transplant operation took Melanie about 6 hours. Working with little Seedlings is an exercise in patience. These warm season transplants will be ready to put into the Garden in mid May. The Cream Colored Roots and Green Shoots on the Sweet Potatoes are going deep and reaching for the Sky. It wasn't so long ago those Tubers were fast asleep. I wasn't sure we were going to get anything out of them. But look at them go now. I have recently begun gently pulling off the shoots and rooting them in Rain Water. (Yes, Rain Water is our choice for watering all of our plants. They surely know the difference.) Thursday is another Root Day. On that day, I plan to pull off more shoots and to put the well rooted ones in moist Sand. The Sweet Potato Starts will be ready for the Garden in late May, early June. Melanie, Richard, and I planted the Cherry Tree that Sarah Saltmarsh gave in memory of Mother. Max the Cat joined us for a little supervision which we surely welcomed. This Sour Cherry Tree is a very fitting choice for Mother as Mom was quite the Pie Maker. We haven't had a lot of luck with Cherry Trees due to the excessive moisture of the last 4 years. We planted this one on the best spot we could find. Mom's Cherry Tree is within sight of Dad's Apple Tree. That seemed fitting too.

Melanie said the Humans are beginning to wake up. We aren't so different after all.