Not Too Early to Work the Garden

Today I dragged Squirrelboy outside for about an hour. The air was warmer than it has been for a while, and the sky was grey. Rain hung in the wings, waiting for the right moment to begin. Cheerfully, I began tugging out the old tomato cages that had been supporting the wraiths of last year's plants. They slid easily from the muddy earth. I set my boy to picking up rocks that had been piled between the plants. He plunked a few into the bucket, but didn't stick at the job very long. He's only three, after all. Squirrelboy stood watching me vigorously dealing with the tomato cages and the vestiges of weeds surrounding the black mulchcloth. He kicked at the "bad guys", denuded stalks of broccoli, as the rain began coming down. I reached around his little body and helped him pull the bad guys from the ground. The thick stalks and kinky roots made an impressive conquest for a little fellow. By the time I finished yanking up all the leftover plants and checking to see how easy it would be to get the mulch off the ground (yes, I know, my bad for not taking care of it last year), Squirrelboy's hair was matted to his head and he was shivering. Such a little trooper! Of course we went in and had warm soup for lunch, so all was well.

Current Dispatch

The lavender and rosemary in the house seem happy. New growth greens up, and I can't wait until the days are warm enough to take them out and play. Charmer, a male cat who adopted us, keeps coming home with wounds. He fights and gets the worst of it, I'm afraid. So I'm pulling out the hydrogen peroxide and kitty antibiotics again. I've also just begun my herbalist journey, and my excitement is tempered with the knowledge that I'll be working on this for a very long time. No, that's not true...the knowledge that I'll be working on this for a very long time is exciting, too. This week...boneset and gentian, I believe. And there's lots of reading. And I have to write a paper. Yippee! I am ridiculously happy with the higher angle of the sun, an earlier sunrise, green things edging their way towards strength, a new venture, and health in the family.

Scent of Early Spring

The scents of earliest spring aren't necessarily pleasant. This morning, the smell of skunk was pungent in the wet woods. The earthy moist smell of earth pervades everywhere. Soon, I expect, we'll be scenting that unique fragrance of drowned-out worms.

And Then There Was One

Unfortunately, we lost one of our beehives over the winter. A few days ago, they were fine. But the lack of honey in the hive led to starvation. It's not uncommon, in our area, for people to lose hives this way. Still, it's sad to see the evidence of their last moments. All the bees are as deep into the comb as they can be, where they plunged in order to scrape out the last bits of honey. And then the cold got them, since they could not keep up enough energy to stay warm. We are feeding our other hive with sugar water, hoping to nurse them along until the first nectar flow. Fortunately, that comes early in the woods with the trees producing flowers and pollen long before the last of the frost season. Until then, we will hover like nervous parents, hoping that our little ladies can hang on one more year.

The sun is watery and pale,

less yellow than the small patch at the end of the driveway,

left by some dog, no doubt.

I feel clean,

cleaner than the snow scattered with leaf detritus

shaken from the quiet trees.

My cheeks hurt,

much more than a tingle because ten degrees is cold

halfway through the morning till noon.

Dragonwood in Winter

Dragonwood is a very pretty place in the winter. Last week, I took these pictures. Forgive me if the pictures are not as gorgeous as they could be. I make no claims of photographic excellence.

This first picture shows the driveway. It circles around this clump of trees and brush and grapevines. Some of the smaller trees are pawpaws. We eat the fruit, which tastes of apple custard, in September.

Let's head out to the back yard. We're following a rabbit trail through the deep snow. Look at how much snow is mounded up on the torches and the birdhouses!

Weeds. Call them what you like, but I call them beautiful.

Faerygirl and Squirrelboy enjoy playing together on a Snow Day!

Here's a little story for those that can read it. On the top is a close up of some interesting marks I found in the snow. On the bottom is a broader picture. The tracks start in the tree shadow and culminate in the marks that are featured in the closeup. See if you can tell what happened! I'll answer your guesses in the "comments" on this post.

Finally, here is a picture of Dragonwood from the back yard. You can catch a little peek at the Manor, which is currently under construction. I am purposely not posting pictures of the Manor House yet, because I intend to post Dispatches about the earlier stages first.