April 2, 2016

spring is coming

This week: forsythia, magnolias, chionodoxa, and daffodils are beginning to bloom. Lilac leaves are opening. A pair of chickadees is building a nest outside my window. I hear their spring song “dee-dee”. I hear “old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”. The swan pair on the pond is chasing Canada geese and little ring-necked ducks have gone on their migration further north.

March 21, 2016

it’s spring! and a snow storm is coming in tonight

It’s the first day of spring and we have a snow storm coming. It seems like this winter brought hardly any snow and now that winter’s gone – snow! Tonight’s snow will cover the bed with my recently planted pea seeds. They’ll be ok buried in the soil. And my 5 inch garlic and daffodil sprouts are hardy enough to survive some snow. The snow is predicted to melt within a couple days. Maybe I’ll get some pretty snow photos to post tomorrow.

March 18, 2016

cold temps returning

I’ve been so lucky with a couple weeks of warm weather and my winter hoops have been left open. But our next five nights will go below 30F, so I’ll have to cover the frame. I’m even hearing that my newly planted peas may get covered with 6-8 inches of snow on Monday. OMG! That seems like more snow than we’ve had all winter.

March 11, 2016

peepers singing

The peeper frogs started singing today. They are so enthusiastic! From Wikipedia: The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern USA and Canada. They are so called because of their chirping call that marks the beginning of spring. I’m hoping to make a planting calendar app based on natural events someday. I’m probably relearning what previous generations already knew. In any case, I think when the peepers sing, it’s time to plant eggplant and pepper seeds indoors. And it’s time to get ready to…

March 5, 2016

red-winged blackbirds are 3 weeks early

This afternoon I hear red-winged blackbirds at the pond for the first time this season. Last year I didn’t hear them til March 27. So this is three weeks earlier! I wonder if I should adjust my planting calendars by three weeks? A pair of mute swans arrived today too. The ice on the pond melted about 2 weeks ago. We’ve had buffleheads and ring-necked ducks diving since then. Also flocks of Canada geese making all sorts of noise all night. They’re starting to pair off now. I think the…

February 27, 2016

ice out

The ice melted in our local ponds today. A perfect day for a swim, Skippy thought. He swam around quite a while and seemed to love it. Pretty brisk I think.

February 20, 2016

winter tunnel after -12 F cold snap

I’m surprised how well a double tunnel insulates plants. I thought everything would be dead by now. Especially after our record breaking -12.8 F (-25 C) night. Spinach, kale, mustard, bunching onions and cilantro are perfectly happy. (My kale outside of the tunnel is dead.) Lettuce, arugula and chard in the tunnel are cold-singed but will recover fast I think. Probably turnips and daikon radish (the large dead-ish looking plants in the center) are not good choices for a winter tunnel. We’re getting some warm days, 40s and 50s, and…

February 14, 2016

frigid temperatures

At sunset: 18 F (-7.8 C) 8 pm: 0.6 F (-17 C) 10 pm: -2.5 F (-19.2 C) midnight: -5.6 F (-20.9) 3:30 am: -10.7 F (-23.7) 7 am: -12.8 (-24.9 C) 10 am: 9.1 F (-12.7 C) Minimum: -12.9 F (-24.9 C) I’m a bit west of Boston, but the previous Boston record low for this date is/was -3F/-19C (1967). I’m amazed at how fast the temperatures are falling tonight.

February 6, 2016

snow

We had about 8 inches of heavy wet snow yesterday that stuck to tree branches. It looked beautiful, but there were many power outages and sadly, a couple people died not too far south from here from being hit by falling branches. It’s our first real snow of the season. What a storm. The photo above is my backyard. Taken at 7 am, the sun is low in the east, shining across the pond onto snow-covered trees. The roof of my garden shed is visible at the right and my…

February 1, 2016

where did winter go?

It’s in the 80’s in the sun now! Where did winter go? A high of 57F is officially predicted this afternoon in Boston. My bees are out and about. Garlic is sprouting. I’ve been opening my greens tunnel to the sun the past few days. We’ve had a week-long stretch of very mild winter weather. I’m tempted to think spring is around the corner, but I was reminded that last year, most of our enormous snowfall came in February. Nevertheless, I think this is turning out to be a very…

weeks and counting until my last spring frost