Spring is Here? Probably Not.

The forecasters are saying we could reach 63 degrees today.  The sun is shining.

OTOH, there is still snow on the ground.  Almost three-foot high piles at the roadway, so I am not getting my hopes up for an early Spring.

Nevertheless, my intent is to take my body outside this afternoon and pick up the broken limbs that are littering the yard.  I already have a trash can full of them in the garage and spring compost pick-up is still three weeks away.

I was just out on the north side of my house, which is covered still in snow and big puddles of water.  To say that I live in a wetland is an understatement.  While I am six feet higher than the level of the Rouge River branch in the back 40, the water table here is just too damn high.  IMHO, this township really screwed up when they allowed the developer to build in the 1970's.  There is so much water flowing into my sump in the basement, it sounds like Niagara Falls.

And so much for having a basement when you cannot finish it and have to buy flood insurance to protect your furnace and whatever you store down there - up on shelves, of course, unless you forget and set it down on the floor.  (Yes, I have made that mistake in the past.  I remember being at a meeting up in Traverse City and having my son call to tell me the basement was flooding.  Talk about feeling helpless.)

Anyway, we are supposed to have two nice days before snow arrives again on Wednesday.  I am going to try to take advantage of it.  I already have those huge birch tree limbs to cut down in size and tie up, not to mention having to remove the rest of the tree later this spring.

Frankly, I do not look forward to a warm up for several days with freezing temperatures that follow.  Most of my flowers do not like that.  OTOH, last year's weather meant far fewer cottonwood seeds floating in the air from the nuisance cottonwood trees.  My neighbor has cottonwood, willows and buckthorn.   Talk about growing junk.

Fortunately, the area where I am going to be cleaning up is covered in stone so I will not be stepping in any mud puddles.  The north side will just have to wait a few months. 

I hope you take advantage of the nice days during this time of year.  Up her in the Midwest, they are not too plentiful during winter.