Sunday, March 30, 2008

What, March Already? And it's almost over...

March in NW Ohio is, obviously, not much to write about. Our winter cycle has been, for the most part, Snow - Melt - Rain - Flood - Repeat. Except, finally, at the end of March, we've had a few snow- and rain-free days. The coming week promises daily rain, with swollen rivers and creeks, so while the Snow - Melt cycle seems to have faded, the Rain - Flood cycle will likely continue.

At any rate, I've been neglecting updating the blog. I'm sorry. Where to start. OK - early March, snow, and sun. Opportunity for a good walk with the dog, which yielded only one photo in which she did not point her butt toward the camera. I think she's lens-shy.


Next is a photo of the scarily long icicles hanging from the west side of the house. (All the weather, for the most part, hits the west side). I shot this from inside my bedroom, so outside, from the edge of the roof, they looked much longer. I hear that's bad to see - could reflect ice damming in the gutters - but to my relief, all the other houses showed the same cold weather impact. I took the photo from inside because, well, I didn't want to layer up to go outside just to snap a photo.


These next few pics don't reflect my excitement about Spring's arrival. While it's here according to the calendar, many signs that I've noted in my previous Springs here. (Of note is that I have been here for more than one Spring.) At any rate, there are a few spots in the yard that can reliably signal the start of spring - a few patches of seemingly randomly sewn little crocuses (I think):


....and a singular little patch of Snowdrops (the viney stuff to the right, fortunately, stays green year-round), ...


.....and finally, a mystery patch. I'd have to look back at last year's photos, if I have any, of this section of the landscaping. But, I seem to remember Daffodils emerging here, and neither of these plants look like Daffodils. The light green shoots are the only ones like them in my yard, and, as far as I can tell, in the neighborhood. I have no idea what they are. I'm hoping the darker green grouping might be Tulips (!!!). Last year, there was one single Tulip in the yard, and it was about in this area. The previous year, there were none.


Can you see the little crocuses in the photo below?

Here they are!!

Here's hoping for a green spring!