More Rain

Last night the weather forecast indicated warm temperatures, partial cloud cover, and wind. The cloud cover looks quite heavy and it has been raining on and off the whole time I have been up, three hours now. I had hoped to wash and hang my sheets out to dry but maybe I can do that tomorrow.

Yesterday afternoon, my bird feeders arrived. We have washed them. This morning, I will make a sugar water solution for the hummingbirds. Reports indicate that males are beginning to return to claim territory for the summer. I am going to wait a little longer with the oriole feeder but perhaps I should put it out now too. The indications are that cedar waxwings like the same things orioles do and that they come to oriole feeders. Since cedar waxwings stay for the winter, they might like a new food source.

Rain Again

On the way home from our Wednesday morning study group, we stopped so that I could pick up a gift for my mother. In little more than a week, I will see her birthday and Mother's Day. I got a robin's egg blue three-quarter length sleeve cardigan, a white shell with a lovely embroidered neckline, and a set of robin's egg blue and white stockings. I will send everything plus a check to my sister who will give our mother the clothes for one gift and buy some flowers for the other gift. Maybe I ought to include a little more for some candy too.

As nice as it was yesterday, today is a bit opposite. Except for a brief interlude this morning, it has been cloudy, gray, and rainy. We do so need the rain. On the news last night, they said that it would take four to five years of average rainfall and snowfall to restore the water level of White Bear Lake.

Spring, Lovely Spring :-)

Today looks and feels like something typical for the end of April. The sun is out and the sky is sapphire blue.

The pictures show my fritillaria in the Gopher Garden and apricot blossoms. You do have to use your imagination a little bit to see the maroon in the fritillaria. I am fascinated by their checkerboard coloration. As you can see, the apricot blooms before the leaves come out.

I have received word that my bird feeders were shipped Friday. Since they are coming from the East Coast via ground transportation, they will probably not be delivered until the end of the week at the earliest.

More Rain Today

Yes, we have more rain. At least, the sky looks cloudy and very rain-like. We need rain very much. Lake water levels in the area are down. White Bear Lake, a community to the north of us closed one of the beaches on White Bear Lake. It has been a very popular beach. The water level is down and a dangerous drop off is much too close to the swimming area. The community park board decided it would be a wise idea to close the beach. Friends who saw Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis on Saturday say that it is very low.

Above is a picture of Minnehaha Falls on a better day in 2004. As far as waterfalls go, it is rather small. If you have seen Niagara Falls, Bridal Veil Falls on the US side is much, much larger than Minnehaha Falls. All the same, we love the falls. When I was a child, we lived close enough to the falls to come to the park for picnics. When my husband was growing up, he lived so close to the falls that the park was where he, his siblings, and his friends played. The creek that feeds the falls winds through southern Minneapolis from Gray's Bay on Lake Minnetonka. At the end of summer, one year, my husband and I canoed the creek through Minneapolis from where it enters to city almost all the way to the falls.

Rainy Day Coming

Today looks like a good one to stay inside. The temperature is not supposed to even reach 60F and rain is predicted. In fact, there may even be thunderstorms throughout the day and well into the night. That makes me feel cold. Maybe I will change from my shell set to a turtleneck and my boiled wool jacket for church.

I need to check on the pansies I bought this past week. I am a little afraid that they might be dangerously dry since I have neglected them somewhat. While I am doing that, I ought to check on those little tomato plants. I think that I probably never let you know why the little tomato plants are such an involved project. Where we live, generally the last frost is considered to be mid-May. The general rule of thumb is to not plant tender plants until the end of May when the soil has had enough time to warm a little. To plant the tomatoes which need warm soil before the end of April is really pushing it.

We put the cut down milk cartons out where the plants will go for a few days to help warm the soil. When we pop the cartons over the little plants, the cartons become little cold frames. When we put the tomatoes in early like this, the roots become very well established. We are able to have tomatoes a few weeks early. After living on store-bought tomatoes for the winter, in April we begin to become very desirous of garden grown tomatoes. Even with the little covers for the tomatoes, we run the risk of loosing them because of cold.

The apricot trees look like they are getting ready to bloom. Please do not make the mistake of thinking these are the lovely, juicy apricots from California. These trees are hardy in weather as cold as what we have in the middle section of Minnesota. The apricots are quite small; in fact, I have seen some humongous olives that are almost as big as our apricots. We eat them off the tree and if we have a large enough crop, I will make preserves. The danger here is that the trees bloom with the first warm temperatures which we have had this past week. If we have frost which is quite possible, we will loose the crop; we have no way to cover the apricot trees the way we cover the tomato plants.

Saturday Thoughts

The past couple days the temperature has been unseasonably warm. Today it is closer to normal and it feels cold. As I walked this morning, it began to rain lightly. It has since, stopped and the clouds appear to be thinning. Although I can see a little blue sky, it really is not supposed to be a very hopeful sign. More rain is predicted for the weekend.

Yesterday, I dug out part of my bleeding hearts to give some to a friend who lost hers. We divided the clump into three which I planted for her. In exchange, she gave me an interesting flower. I have no idea what its name is.

Today, two friends are running a 5k or 10k. A third friend is with them to cheer them along and give them support but not to run. She is planning to run Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN in a few weeks. She is hoping her foot will have healed by that time.

Pictures Today

You can see one of the small tomato plants. I took its little hothouse cap off. In the background and slightly out of focus is the other plant still under its little cap and behind it is another milk carton that we are currently using to bring water to the plants.

Over night, the temperature did not get low enough to do damage to the tomato plants but for the past twenty-four hours, it has been extremely windy. I am certain that the caps protected the plants.

We are beginning to see volunteer lettuce in the garden. We obviously have little control over where it sprouts. This single little one is in the raspberries.

Last, but far from least, are the daffodils. They have been open for a couple days now and are in our Gopher Garden. My husband and I graduated from the University of Minnesota. The school colors are maroon and gold and the school mascot is Goldie the Golden Gopher. We have maroon and gold flowers in the Gopher Garden. Lately, I have been thinking about giving up the idea of the Gopher Garden because it seems a little silly. That might be a little hard to do because we have a collection of maroon and gold flowers that I would have to spread around to the other gardens. That sounds like a lot of work.