Category: Spring in Minnesota

Time to wake up

Twelve days ago the tulips were the first to pop up out of the ground.  They always are.  It is an incredibly welcome sight.

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The next day I started to see tiny bits of green in the lawn.  Tiny, but unmistakable.  Then I saw the one clump of iris we still have was popping up.

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And the pink asian lilies were popping up.

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Then the robins came to take baths.  And the first hen (duck) arrived.  The next day she came with the drake.  Then I noticed that by 5:30 am the cardinals were already singing.  And the chickadees were starting to look for the hummingbird water.  And the dark-eyed junkos were flocking up.  (I suspect they will be leaving soon.)  And the sedum were popping up …

Today I absolutely had to have my first serious garden day.  Out I went with my gloves on, to trim the sedums I left for the birds this past winter.  Then I picked up the large branches that had come off the linden (very normal).  I left the smaller pieces for the birds to use for their nests.  They do such a nice job of cleaning up!   I was cleaning up the debris around the hostas, and then I saw it … the daylilies are starting to  come up!!!  10 minutes later I got a text from our son’s girlfriend.  Her daylilies are coming up!   Now I’m jazzed – lol ☺  Out come the garden pretties (fun decorations) – the spinners, the toads and turtles and hiking and hunting bears.  The bird bath.  The whole shebang!!!  Spring is here!!!  The garden is waking up!!!

Just as I was bringing the last item – the bird bath warmer – into the garage, the predicted rain came.  Big plops.  Yes!   I “coffeed” section two of the four areas of the garden today.  Perfect timing.

Up in northern Minnesota, not so much, yet.  But that’s for another day.

Coffee time begins

Today we hit 50° F.  Woohoo!  Hello spring!!!

The snow is melting pretty fast.  Last week we lost well over a foot within a few days.  The sewers and drainage ditches were overwhelmed and the farm fields had so much water in them that they looked like lakes.  When the wind got howling it looked like they had mini whitecaps!

Today I can see quite a bit more grass.  We still have giant piles of snow from plowing, but where the open spaces were mostly white yesterday morning, this afternoon they are at least 50% grass.  The more modest snow piles now resemble a snowy version of the Badlands instead of the Himalayas.   10 days ago we looked like this:

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Soon we will see tulips and sedum starting to pop up.  Today it is time for this to start going out on the gardens:

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It is coffee time!

I used to buy sprinkle/pour fertilizer granules and put that on my gardens in the fall.  They were “time released” so in the spring I would see them in the soil.  For the past few years I have put used coffee grounds down instead.  I started because it deters slugs, and I found it also deterred bunnies and did a great job of fertilizing.  My plants have gone bonkers since I started doing that.  They are very happy!

I start out pretty sparingly – just light sprinkles.  Then when the hostas start to come up, I also put grounds lightly around each plant.  I rarely have slug issues when I get started on that process early.

If the forecast holds for Saturday, I will also have my first “patio time” of the season.  Some people call it “lawn chair therapy”.  Either way, it is bliss!

Wait!  I also just heard the first motorcycle of the season!  Oh yah!!!  We Minnesotans are so ready for a new season!