This foolish business of Spring

'Tis a misty moisty morning this first day of April.  O to be a fool, while spring is in the world!  (thanks, e.e.)  Dragonwood is green, looking much as it would in early May.  The early wildflowers, which usually emerge this time of year, have already bloomed and gone.  Now the trilliums open, and May apples are not far behind.  There are still fair patches of white in the woods, but those spots dwindle as new leaf growth races toward the sun.  A troop of six deer frequents our forest, going so far as to cross the driveway when the children and I were headed towards the road one morning.  We counted them as some people do the cars of a train.  Our bees have been busy already this year, making the most of the early nectar flow.  We put supers on the hives in mid-March, hoping to share in the bounty.  This very moment, outside the kitchen window, two large squirrels battle for territory.  It's so amazing to see them leap onto fragile branches.  Ah, one has lost.  It was chased too far onto a bending branch, where it could not escape.  The aggressor then backed off and climbed its chosen tree in triumph.  The winner poses, head up, but headfirst towards the ground, where I can admire his sleek body and bushy tail.  As he leaves to go about his buisiness, a robin with nest material in its beak pauses a moment to rest in the squirrel's tree.  Life bursts forth all around us. 

Early Spring in Dragonwood

     This has been a morning in which every beat of my heart throbs with gratefulness and joy.  Birds sing from every quarter of Dragonwood.  Spicebush is in bloom, making a hazy yellow layer in the understory.  Spring beauties and a few other woodland wildflowers blossom.  We find DeKay's brownsnakes, from a hand's-length red-bellied beauty on the doormat to a foot-long matriarch skimming the leafy ground.
     The bees meet the challenge of an early warm spell by gathering great amounts of pollen and honey from the budding maples and wildflowers.  Maple pollen looks like creamy pale yellow dust, while some of the wildflower pollen is bright red.  Crocuses, too, produce reddish or bright orange pollen.  So much honey is being collected that we put honey supers on two of three hives.
     Every day is a new adventure for 6-year-old Squirrelboy and me.  He earned the privilege of visiting the neighbor's woods (larger than ours) by diligently cleaning up the roadside trash.  His kindness and persistence impressed her, and she apparently values the precious gift of a childhood spent in the woods.  So now, every day after school, I must go on an adventure with my increasingly bold explorer.  I follow his long legs and tousled blond hair into the forest.  He finds paths for me across logs and around thornbushes.  Squirrelboy is a gentleman, too, pointing out hazards and picking up treasures.  We talk about the value of keeping wild places healthy, and how to show respect for our neighbors when we are on their property.  Under his shining blue eyes, the freckles darken, and I fall in love with my beautiful boy all over again.
     I discover bones, and we wonder what this animal could have been.  Sharp teeth and large, forward pointing eyesockets mean it must have been a carnivore that could hunt.  From the size of the skull, I guess it could have been a coon or opossum. 
     Indoors, we hear the voices of eight peeps!  These baby chickens will grow our flock.  Of course, the children have already named them:  Owl and America, the blue/green egg-laying Ameracaunas; Lily and Ginny, the Cherry Eggers; Silvie and Amity, the Silver-Lace Wyandottes; and Lacey and Fire Ammonite, the Gold-Lace Wyandottes.  Can you guess which ones Squirrelboy named, which I named, and which were named by Faerygirl?  We suspect Fire Ammonite is a rooster, due to his petite size, bossy attitude and extra-loud constant peep.
   We at Dragonwood look forward to a beautiful season of garden, bees, chickens, woodland adventures, and unprecedented delights.  It has already begun.

Catching a Fairy

The warm spring weather brings out all sorts of lovely beings. We celebrated the Spring Equinox with a spring treasure hunt. Some friends and their children helped us look for green shoots, flowers, singing birds, and other early signs of the season. One little girl brought glitter to "magic" my garden. Now the crocuses and tulips twinkle! We even found a large owl pellet, with the intact but fragile bones of its former dinners. I could see a tiny ball joint sticking out of the mat of hair and bones. The guests also enjoyed kite-flying, stories, playing, and a tour of the Manor.

Yesterday, Faerygirl and Squirrelboy enjoyed a vernal pool that was created when the Lord of Dragonwood experimented with building a pond. We often find tracks around the pool. This year, the children found it brimming with life. Squirrelboy came running into the house for a jar, which he delivered to his sister. The girl was calf-deep in the pool, squealing with delight about the "fish" she was trying to catch. Not long after, my muddy-footed offspring proudly presented me with a jar of pondwater, algae, and many small creatures. I immediately identified several tiny leeches, only a few millimeters long, and a beetle that uses a bubble of air to dive. There was also an incredible pinkish-orange creature fluttering through the water. It was absolutely fascinating. Upon further investigation, we found out it was truly a fairy. Here's a link to a picture of some of its kind:

http://cfb.unh.edu/CFBkey/html/Organisms/otherarthropods/GEubranchipus/geubranchipus.html

These little fairies are quick and colorful. They live for a brief period in vernal pools. The rest of the year, they exist as eggs that withstand drying out, freezing, and all sorts of weather. Only in the spring do they hatch and live out their brief lives. They are truly magical creatures. I am delighted that Faerygirl was able to catch one so that we could see it up close. Also, now we have real evidence that fairies live in Dragonwood!

If I find a picture that I am legally able to share, I'll try to put one up. Or we'll have to try some underwater macrophotography that I'm not sure our little digital camera can handle.

First Flower of Spring

Squirrelboy brought me the first flower of Spring - a pretty yellow crocus. The bees from our three surviving hives are out visiting. I think the maple blossoms may be feeding them. I planted some early spring herbs - fenugreek, chervil, cilantro, amaranth, fennel, and cumin. The warmth today makes me want to plant and weed everything! Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do that today. The dog and cats are playful. We have seen the cranes, geese, and redwinged blackbirds returning. The blackbirds sing from the weeds, staking out their territories with music. Last week, all four of us went out in the cool wet mud and planted about 120 linear feet on the north and west side of the house in ferns and wildflowers. Inside, the rooms grow more beautiful as we hang pictures and move in furniture. There are still many details that need arranging, but we are happy to be living in such a beautiful place.

Spring Greening

The first green in the woods is low, a bright emergence above the leaf mold. Not long after, a fuzziness appears in the high branches. The wildflowers have a timing all their own, as the leaves of the trees begin to open. First out are the bloodroots, followed by spring beauties and toothwort. For those of you with gardens of your own, this roughly corresponds with crocus blooming. Next come the dutchman's breeches, a feathery-leaved plant with flowers that look like little bloomers or teeth. Faerygirl used to call them the tooth-fairy plant. This year, the early spring wildflowers were blooming in the first week of April. The children and I left for a week of vacation, and were able to enjoy the very end of their blooming. The trout lilies, too, bloomed. Then the violets and sweet-smelling phlox reigned for a week or so, and the May apples started spreading their umbrels. "Bloody noses", my mother-in-law's name for our red trilliums, now spread in great patches through the woods. The phlox and violets still bloom, but their time is ebbing. Wild geraniums have just begun to open, and I have spotted some Jack-in-the-pulpits. As each wave of wildflowers crests, more green rises, licking upwards in plant growth, reaching downward from the crowns of the forest. The thickness of the green in such a few short weeks amazes me. By May, most of the wildflowers will have had their brief time in the sun.

April Green

It's warm in Dragonwood. Bees are visiting the crocuses and early spring wildflowers. Just yesterday, a notable green showed above the brown leaf mulch. In the field, wee beasties have left their winter homes behind. Great galls on goldenrod stalks now have holes in them, and strange pupal skins and coccoons are abandoned. Bloodroot is blooming, and the bees are quite busy. Tabby, the dog, snaps them out of the air for a crunchy snack. At the Manor, we are all quite busy ourselves, installing insulation and prepping for drywall. This weekend, we anticipate getting a good start on the drywall, with a little help from our friends. Spicebush buds are bursting into yellow stars. Faerygirl claims to have observed some tiger beetles, and the children bear the welts from their first mosquito bites. I have some peas, brassicas, and lettuces starting to emerge from the earth, in addition to my tomato, pepper, and brassica starts indoors. We also planted some rugosa roses! Every day brings new delights.

The Sacrament of the Woodburner

The Lord of Dragonwood and Faerygirl performing the Sacrament of the Woodburner in February

It is early when you find yourself at the top of the stairs, adorning yourself in thick layers. Chilly air hits your face outdoors, but the daily pilgrimage must be made. Perhaps you don't really want to go, but the sacrifice is important to keep your family warm. The dark lies heavy on the world, even though you know the glint of sunrise is not far from coming. The woodburner must be approached with solemnity and caution; after all, you don't know yet what you will find inside. Some mornings, the open door belches forth hot smoke that could singe the unwary, and some mornings there are merely warm ash and coals. Reach in with the broken garden rake, stir the ashes to find the still burning coals. Go forth, and hunt fuel. Sometimes, you must dig through the snow to find it. Bring the fire to life with sticks and scraps of wood from the Manor construction. Lay on great logs, to sustain the fire as it burns all day. Dust it, perhaps, with the creosote preventer. Then close the great door. Listen as the machinery clacks and whirrs its power, moving hot water through the house. By this time, you can tell the day is coming. The morning rush surges in your blood, and you are now ready for tea and breakfast.

Every morning, I have honored this time. It is my daily time to contemplate, and to sense the changing of the seasons. But last night, we let the woodburner go out. Although we may keep it going a little longer, the sky is no longer dark in the morning, nor are the temperatures so cold. Another morning ritual must replace this daily visit to the source of our warmth. Perhaps it is time to turn to greeting the sun! It's quite nice to take a cup of tea on the deck and toast the sunrise.

Quickening Moon

Some cultures refer to the second full moon of the year as the "quickening moon". I heartily agree with the name. Thawing has begun in Dragonwood. All the beasts and birds are becoming more active. We hear lots of birdsong, owl hooting, and woodpecker knocking. This past weekend, the Lord of Dragonwood started to feel better. I helped him strip wires and prepare for running speaker wires. One of the nice things about building your own house is that you can build in surround sound! The kids helped clean and clear the spaces that we are finishing up. Over the past week or two, I've observed the robins and the geese returning. Branches I brought into the house have opened into soft green leaves. The Lord observed a hawk on its kill right at the end of our driveway! All this melt is making me antsy to begin laying out our garden beds for the coming year. It's hard to be patient when you know warmer weather is coming!

Leeches and a Musical Moment

It's been a wet Spring. The forest is lush and green, and so are the weeds in my garden. I can barely keep pace with them. Leeches stretch across the driveway, black and glistening. They look like giant earthworms as long as my hand from wrist to longest fingertip. They are Annelids, segmented worms like their cousins. It is beautiful to watch them move, stretching and bunching with peristaltic action, blindly seeking their ways across the gravel. Above sits a now-hidden hawk's nest. I found a feather one morning, just as I was singing:

"Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I got a beautiful feeling...
(here I stooped to pick up the feather I had just noticed)
Everything's going my way!"

Indeed, sometimes there ARE moments in life that are straight out of a musical.

Going Up

The Lord of Dragonwood sits atop the roof, resplendent in his yellow safety harness. His powerful weapon blasts nails into the endless shingles that go into covering our huge Manor. Meanwhile, down below, either Faerygirl or I peel countless cellophane strips off the backs of the next shingles to be loaded onto the scaffold. It's a tedious task, but daily we can see the fruits of our labor. Perhaps, by the end of this week, we shall have a completed roof!

I, the Lady, am also busy pulling weeds from our strawberry and perennial beds, preparing soil, and planting as much as I can. With the Lord so busy and focused on building, the garden tasks fall to me. I don't mind this at all; those of you who know me well are aware of the joy and pride I take from working my land. On sunny days, my family is seldom indoors.

Faerygirl has taken up softball, so her schedule further complicates an already busy spring season. She cheerfully helps with the shingle-stripping and gardening and by watching her brother whenever she is available. We all appreciate her for this!

Squirrelboy is living up to his busy namesake, scrambling up log piles, racing through the woods, and digging in sand and earth. He is happiest when he has spent a lot of time outdoors. He cannot get into too much trouble that way. Yesterday, he even caught a tiger beetle and brought it to show me. It was so pretty!

The spring wildflowers are up and blooming, too. Now the middle story is beginning to leaf out. Every living thing reaches for the warmth and light shining above.

Current Dispatch - End of March

Just before the rain, I managed to plant two rows of broccoli, a row of marigolds, and a row of cabbage. Let's hope the rain and slowly warming earth help them to sprout! Squirrelboy insisted on going out in the rain and jumping in puddles. Nothing is happier than a little boy getting drenched as he splashes in joy. When the soil dries out enough, I'll continue planting cabbages and some early spring herbs. I also have seeds in the freezer and refrigerator to "cold treat" and then pull out mid-April for planting.

Close Encounters of the Crayfish Kind

As I was pulling a plastic bag from the little ditch alongside my woods, I gasped and then chuckled. Trapped inside was a curious crawdad who had probably gone in to investigate any vestiges of food that had been left behind. I shook it out gently and brought it to Squirrelboy, who was sitting jauntily in the wheelbarrow. He was a little nervous about the small "lobster" crawling around his feet and legs. But I let him know that it would not harm him as long as he was gentle and kind. Soon Faerygirl joined us, and the two children enjoyed playing with their new friend. It reminded me so much of my own childhood, growing up along a creek, and playing with the crawdads that lived there. This particular specimen was a real beauty, with shiny patterned brown carapace, soft-looking cartilage showing at the joints, and a perky demeanor. After a while, we let it go back to the ditch from whence it came. It is a wonder to me that we have crawdads in our woods, for while it is quite wet this time of year, in the late summer it becomes very dry.

I continued cleaning up the trash spread along the north side of our woods. It looked as if a bag of someone's trash had been dragged along the ditch, probably by neighboring dogs, raccoons, or other varmints. The water was cool as I poked bits of plastic out with sticks. This sort of litter I can handle; no one meant for it to be there. However, I am extremely disgruntled by the litterers who think wooded roadsides are the perfect place to toss their used cups and cigarette packages and beer bottles. In the woods to the north of us, I constantly find large piles of beer cans and liquor bottles. This troubles me, since I really don't want drunk kids messing around so close to where my children play. Often these cans have bullet holes in them. Along the west side of the woods, someone likes to drink coffee and throw their giant styrofoam cups into the brambles. It truly offends me that someone would be so discourteous. The least they could do is keep their trash inside the car until they get home.

Tasting the First Weed of Spring

I ate my first weed of the season yesterday! With the warmth and wetness, all the green things are springing from the earth. As I unloaded the groceries I saw the vibrant weeds thrusting up along the concrete pad. I greeted the dandelions with joy. I just could not resist taking a brand new leaf for a little taste. It was delightful! Soon I will be making weed salads again. In the yard, the grass and clover are greening. Little sprouts hide under the leaf mulch. And the insects are out! Our bees are doing well, and the fly family is also buzzing about. Even though I know cold weather can still visit from time to time, I believe that Spring has come at last. And did you see that Full Moon? My, she was gorgeous! It has been so exciting to watch the green returning to Dragonwood, first in the moss and lichen, now the grass...and soon it will be fresh new leaves. I know that flowers are open somewhere, probably high atop the maples, because the bees are bringing in creamy pollen in their leg baskets. If you see an insect in your own back yard, greet her for me!

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.