Being an account of some things I'm interested in, what I'm doing, and reflections on my past, especially music.
The daffodils and hyacinths are pretty well spent. As are the Bradford pear trees.
But, the tulips, creeping phlox, a yellow perennial and the five crabapple trees are blooming.
I have another bumper crop of dandelions. No cicadas yet. We're supposed to have both the 13-year and 17-year cicadas soon.
Grass is growing well.
I have the yard crew coming over Wednesday, weather permitting, to finish trimming trees and getting rid of weed trees.
--RoadFlower
April showers (well, and snow on the 3rd) and flowers are blooming. Especially the dear old dandelions. What would spring be without the dandies. Since I haven't used fertilizer or weedkiller in twenty years, I have a bumper crop.
In addition, I must have several hundred daffodills blooming and a hundred hyacinths. The Bradford pear trees are in their brilliant white bloom as well. The creeping phlox are in several hues around the yard. I always try to have something blooming year round. Here we go again.
Right now I am busy raking leaves out of flower beds and cutting down dead plants.
But, by far, my biggest challenge is the huge burn pile on the southwest corner of the lot. I hired people to come over and cut down weed trees and clear overgrowth out last summer and that pile is huge. Way too big to attempt a straight pile burn for fear it will get away from me.
So, I pull things off the pile and burn smaller fires. This is a very tiring work. And believe me at age 72 these first days of working out in the yard are getting rougher and rougher. I am one sore lad indeed.
I Didn't Know You Could Hurt So Many Ways. --RoadPain
As we shiver around here today. Last week, we had four days with sun and temps in the 80s and higher. This morning, woke up to about an inch of snow on the ground, snow flurries in the morning and temps in the upper 30s. Like they say, if you don't like the weather around Chicago right now, wait a little bit.
Grass is green and I was smiling Saturday when the lawn tractor started right away. Trees are budding out.
The Bradford pear trees are blooming big time white. I have three of them. The crabapples are budding out.
Plenty of twigs and limbs still to be moved from the ice storm a short time ago (we lost electricity for 17 hours).
Right now the daffodils and hyacinths are blooming and I have a lot of them.
--RoadFlower
Despite all this crummy cold weather, 38 degrees this morning but at least sunny, everything is greening up and trees are budding out. The Japanese lilacs already have their leaves and the crabapples are just about there as well.
The yard already is a blast of yellow with the daffodils (and I have at least 1000 of them) and the hyacinths are also in full bloom. The tulips are about to start opening up.
I have not yet cut the grass and sure hope the lawn tractor starts. The yard needs cutting for sure.
I also haven't had much opportunity to get outside and rake leaves out of the flower beds or knock down dead growth.
Sure looking forward to the arrival of spring. Hopefully this weekend.
Oh, yes. And the dandelions are well underway, of course. And, it's a bumper crop!!
Would You ever believe a Bumper Crop of Dandelion? Kind of Hard to Believe. --RoadDog
After a two week delay, I finally got my lawn tractor and had a real fun time cutting down the yard jungle I had developed in the meantime. I always try to stay ahead of the grass especially in the spring when it is growing fast. I had to cut it much higher than I usually do.
Sadly, one of my crabapple trees had just come into a heavy bloom but then the extreme winds we had this past weekend hit and blew every single bud off. However, the other four crabapples are blooming right now as is the sole remaining Bradford pear tree. The two sunburst honey locusts are about to leaf out in that glorious yellow. The redbud is also blooming.
The daffodils and hyacinths are spent, but the tulips are ablaze right now.
The purple, red and white creeping phlox are carrying the flower color right now along with a perennial I have that has gray foliage and yellow flowers (but I don't know what it is called).
Hostas are coming up.
--RoadFlower
