Spring fever has set in here - or at leas it would completely if the wind would die down. After our cold snap this past weekend, we've got temperatures in the high seventies and everything is bursting into bloom. I almost drove off the4 road yesterday admiring all the redbuds in bloom.

It got up to about 85 degrees here yesterday (Oklahoma City) so we got to open up the house for a while last night. That was nice. I love a good breeze going through the house... makes me feel healthier!

Here's a shot I took of my open window, new sunglasses, and (desperately in need of water at that moment - don't worry, it was perked back up by 7pm!) swedish ivy.

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I can still smell the fresh air from here!

We've got a 20% chance of rain this weekend (hope we get it... we need it badly!) but mild temps until well into next week. It'll be nice. I might even wear a skirt. lol

The Chinese elms are leafing out here now and this is their prettiest time of the year. I went to look at one yesterday that has a branch 30 ft. long running parallel to the ground at 4 feet high. I put two steel posts with saddle like half circles at the top under it 12 years ago and had to put cables and pins in it last year to fix a split. It will need to be trimmed to balance the weight and prevent any more damage.

I have to call the college and see if some one is leading the Palms to Pines field trip from Hemet to Idlewild and down the back side of the mountain to Palm Springs on Highway 74 in the San Jacinto Mountains. My friend and colleague used to lead it for many years as a lesson on native plants at their best. Natives were his passion and he was full of information on them. Alas he passed a couple of years ago from melanoma. I will go by myself if I can in his honor and to see the wonder of the desert but would love to have a group to go with.

Gandle, fire has it's good and bad sides. Always be careful as I know you will. I had to clean up a big Canary Island date palm that got blackened by the recent fires here not long ago. Not a fun thing to do as the soot was with me for a couple of days after.

After a February of snow and rain and chilly weather Spring has sprung! Crocuses are everywhere and the daffodils are just about to open. Weeds and grasses are growing like mad, I filled a 5 gallon bucket of greens in no time and brought them to the chickens, were they ever delighted!
This is the time of year I am really sorry that I can't turn the chickens loose, but there are flying predators and too many strange dogs around. So I shall pick greens, weather permitting, and get areas weeded at the same time.

It feels like Spring here in WV, too. The current temperature at 2:54 p.m. is 73.2 degrees. (We got a digital thermometer for Xmas and have become addicted to checking it! We can see the numbers change while we watch!) Anyway, it's perfectly beautiful, outside.

Yesterday was "dirty fingernail" day around here. I could actually dig in the soil without hitting ice. I started out with gloves but the temptation was too much and i just had to put my hands in some dirt.

we have rain right now, light, changing to a snowstorm tomorrow..but that's ok..i hiked back into our woods today.
There were a few bare spots showing here and there but mostly there is still ice and snow..but the snow on the level is about 8" deep so you don't sink down like in deep winter..
I have a woods 600' deep by about 800' wide behind our garden property, and we sold property to our west this last fall, and they began cutting out trees in the woods..well i'm sure they don't respect our property line as it isn't fenced..so this spring before they cut any trees on our property i need to get wire and mark our property line..i have 600 feet unmarket s to n and then all across w to east..but the s to n is more my concern than the back..as that is our line between us and them that will likely get trespassed over.

so i walked back about 300' along the woods line..and was taking note of the good trees..this is mostly a nurse woods of aspen (poplar) trees and the baby hardwoods growing there are just now getting a good size..it was pulped off about 30 years ago, and messed up really bad..and they stole our hardwoods when they pulped it off and ruined the forest floor really badly.

we had to allow the aspen to regrow and nurse the hardwoods to full size..there aren't a LOT of hardwoods yet that are full grown, but there are some that are getting to 30 and 40' or more now..but only a few.

i found a beautiful pair of maples one 90' and one 110' back into the woods (note to self to save) and then about 250' i noticed several good size young white ash trees..

I was only walking the property line..not farther in our property so those were just the ones i notices near the line..where they might get cut down by the new neighbors..so i'm thinking (before they come up from Detroit next time as they don't live here yearround)..i need to get some colored wire to quickly mark as much of our property line as i can this spring..and then hopefully get some fencing up later on when the wet is dried off some..SAVE THE TREES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!