Rain, rain and more rain

Enough already.  It has rained off and on all day after having storms last night.  Does this look like enough?

My dry creek was dry when I went to bed last night.  Now?  Not so much.

My peonies are all in bud and ants are enjoying them, but they are truly water-logged.

This is the sky just a few minutes ago.  Maybe it will pass me by.

I guess if there is anything to be said for the rain is that little boys love it.  We all had a good laugh. Enjoy this video.

Is it Finally Spring?

Good question.  I checked my photos from last year and I took a picture of the daffodils on April 29.  So, I guess I shouldn't be complaining about a late spring.  But I am going to anyway.  I am still running my furnace everyday, have a blanket on the bed, it is too wet and windy outside, and I am just plain sick of this crappy weather.

When I was on the Township Board, we passed an ordinance that forbade any company to fertilize lawns before April 1.  As if.  Last Sunday I finally put down the crabgrass pre-emergent and fertilizer.  My lawn looks nice and green from afar, but when you get up close there is just tons of dead grass that is next to impossible to rake out.  And it is way too wet to be power-raked.  My neighbor was teasing me about the river running down the side yard.

I have been trimming the hydrangeas.  They looked to have survived nicely.  But every rose plant has had to be taken back to the ground, even my two Blaze climbers.  I am not sure either of them will make it.

Today I spread about 300 pounds of dirt.  Everyplace I had a puddle in the flower beds I dumped some dirt in it.  It is very easy to dig an edge if you don't mind looking like a five-year-old who has been playing in the mud.

I was on a roll working out there, but then the skies got dark and since they were forecasting storms I packed it up and came inside.  By the time I had cleaned myself up, the sun was back out and the rain has yet to appear.

But that is okay, because to tell the truth, after an hour of yoga and two hours of gardening I was ready to call it a day, even if it was only four in the afternoon.

So, I have some pics of the daffs, and a new peony.  The peony is a division from a plant that I did last fall.  Apparently it is happy because it already has buds.  Ah, spring, when a retiree's fancy turns to soil.

It Rained - and then it Rained Some More....

First it rained.  And then it rained some more.  And then it really rained.  It was so dark here yesterday at 5:30 P.M. that I had to turn lights on just to walk down a hallway.

Last night at 10 P.M. I was outside with my submersible pump cleaning out window wells that filled with water.  The temperature had dropped so much I had to put a jacket on.  The garden is drenched and the dry river bed in back, well, let's just say it looks more like a pond.

More rain is predicted for today.  I don't know when I will be able to actually get into the garden beds.  If flowers are not along a walkway, it is just too messy to try to get a picture.

The first daylily to open (other than Stella De Oro) is 'Happy Returns', a nice soft yellow. 

 

All of the astilbe are blooming and this double pink is a favorite:

 

 

Astilbes on Parade

 

Something has chewed off some hosta blooms and then left them on the ground.  I am suspecting it's the same rabbit that was chewing up the fern and then leaving it.  Rabbit stew anyone?  I have visions of myself dressed as Elmer Fudd.

Here is Frances Williams:

I wish I could share 'scent' with you, as the Little Leaf Lindens have opened and the fragrance is wonderful.  Last year the sudden warm up and then late frost killed all the flowers.  This year it has certainly made up for it.  Here is part of the crown on one of the trees:

Hope you are getting ready for a great weekend.