Thursday, April 21, 2011

Still.... Seeking Spring... Desperately

Guess what April showers have brought this year?
April SNOW!!

It has been spitting snow off and on, and everyone seems to be getting really tired of it. I was just at a meeting with a colleague who had dressed in well-coordinated, pretty pastels and then had to dig out her winter jacket. Fortunately, not all spring colors have to be covered over. The crocuses don't seem to mind the weather at all.


I snapped this shot of the crocuses near my office, not in my own garden. But I have spotted a few signs of spring from my garden, which I'd like to share with you:

Chives - These start growing immediately after the snowpack melts off, and cold weather doesn't bother this herb at all.

Daylilies - Even though they won't bloom until the summer, their green leaves pop up almost as fast as the chives.

Blueberries, lilacs, and crabapple - The buds are starting to show a little bit of green. And there was a small flock of juncos frolicking in the lilac hedge this morning.


I'll leave you with a recipe for a refreshing beverage that will get you excited about spring. Even if the weather seems more like winter.



Lemonade with Maple Syrup

1) Dig through your produce drawer and pull the lemons from underneath the parsnips, onions and other root vegetables. They are under there somewhere... I promise.

2) Juice the lemons into a pitcher and try to get as much pulp out into the pitcher. If there is not too much pith, you can peel the lemon and throw the pulp into the food processor.

3) Pour in maple syrup and stir up it well. Add water and ice cubes. Take a few taster sips to adjust the sweetness and intensity to your liking.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Desperately Seeking Spring

The front yard on Friday - you can start to see lawn!


We wrapped up maple sugaring two weekends ago, not because the season had ended but rather that we had exhausted our initial enthusiasm and wanted to go visit friends. So that's what we did - left our semi-snowy home on Friday and took a little trip to the Hudson River valley.

People hiking the Appalachian Trail northbound are often said to be "chasing spring" as they trek northward from Georgia to South Carolina to North Carolina until summer takes the East Coast by storm. For us, this trip was more like "desperately seeking spring."

It was a great trip full of springtime pleasures - we went bike riding, listened to peepers, went for a hike on a trail with no snow and no mud, and watched painted turtles sunning themselves while we sunned ourselves on our friends' dock. And when we got home, it had warmed up and the snow had melted significantly! And on Monday, it was 70 degrees in the afternoon! I did yard work until it got dark, and it felt absolutely wonderful.

The front yard on Monday - much less snow, still no green.