Where's the Warm Weather?

I must admit that after such a long, cold and incredibly snowy winter I am very anxious for long, sunny and warm days. What we have been getting is a series of cool, rainy days.

Now on the bright side I have not had to water my garden plants in the last week, on the down side they are not getting as much sun as I would like them to right now.

But the days are getting longer. Today sunrise was at 6:15 and sunset will be at 8:32. I slept through the sunrise due to overcast skies and drizzle.

The rhododendrons are in full bloom, well certain varieties, the one by the front door will not bloom for a few weeks yet. Almost all the leaves are out on the trees and the weeds have taken off.

The picture of the house below was taken one day after work when the rain had stopped and the clouds were breaking up.



This is our spring house, water comes out from here that feeds the large pond.



So as Mother Nature rewards us in many ways for the hell she put us through this winter I enjoy all the pleasures and gently remind myself that rain is a whole lot better than the almost 11 feet of snow that fell only a few short months ago.

Aw, Hail!!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, at least during the morning and early afternoon. I went to work on the back deck planting my tomatoes, cucumbers, Dahlias and strawberries. I knew there was a chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms but I did not expect 3 separate rounds of hail. Damn!!



Above is what the back deck looked like after round one.



I am not sure if the poor Dahlia pictured above will survive.



The cucumber plants pictured above suffered also. Most lost their top leaves and almost all the stems were crushed or severed. Luckily I still had some seeds left and planted about 16 seeds in each of the three planters like the one shown.



The tomatoes also took a beating but they fared better than the cucumbers. Most plants lost some leaves but the stems look to be intact and undamaged. Whew.



This Hosta in the front yard looks like it got hit with a shotgun. I did not take a picture of the driveway but it rained so hard we have gullies. Richard will have to go out on the tractor later on and replace the gravel that washed away.

After I replanted the cucumbers I moved them, the Dahlias and the tomatoes under some cover. They will still get some sun but if it hails again this afternoon at least they will be protected. Hopefully today's round of rain and t-storms will not bring more hail.

It's Spring, But Not Warm

In my garden world some things are going great. Like the cucumbers pictured below. I am perplexed as to why the sunflowers are not growing up, but over. Very strange. Pictured below on the left are my petunias in the two front boxes. They are just NOT growing even though they are getting a lot of sunlight every day. My tomatoes are doing the best and will be ready to make the move outside by this weekend or next at the latest.

In my first blog entry I said I would be happy to see the Frog Fountain running again. Richard drained the pond and got the Frog working again. It is nice to come home after work and hear the soothing sound of the fountain.

All of our Azaleas are in bloom. Considering that it was 31 degrees on Mother's Day when we woke up things are doing well.

What has impressed me the most this spring are the Daffodils, Tulips and Garlic we planted here last fall. We planted them very late and I was not sure if anything would come up this spring but as you can see the Daffodils and Tulips are doing great. The Garlic has started to come up and I am looking forward to being able to harvest it in the fall.