Mud Season

My snowdrops (Galanthus) toughed it out under a fresh coat of snow last week, and they continue to bloom.

Yesterday I walked around my flowerbeds looking for more signs of spring. I was excited to find my first tulips peeking out of the ground. These are growing in an exposed flowerbed and they beat out all the tulips that were planted in a sheltered area next to our house (either that or animals ate all those tulips and that’s why they are not popping out). <sigh>

Some of my daffodils—the ones that didn’t foolishly grow like gangbusters in late December only to be frozen off weeks later when winter finally started acting like itself—are also beginning to emerge. They’ll probably green up this week in the rain and mid-50s temperatures we’re supposed to get.

And it didn’t take long for the critters to start causing trouble in my flowerbeds. I looked out the window yesterday morning to see a large tulip bulb lying helplessly on top of the soil. Next to it there was a perfectly-drilled hole. Some animal had taken one small bite of the bulb and decided it wasn’t up to his standards. I replanted the bulb and was surprised to discover that there is no frost left in the ground.

Something also chewed off the tops of these daffodils:

Slowly but surely things are awaking from their winter slumber. In the mean time we just have to get through mud season: