Spring sprouts in January
The Persephone
Days are over, and
this mild winter seems to be turning into spring already. Chives
are sprouting up (and a tiny spider decided he wanted to try his hand
at modelling.)
Thyme stays green all
winter, but I feel like the perennial is starting to push out new
leaves --- a good thing since I've been harvesting some every couple of
weeks to season our dinners.
And the daffodil leaves
have been pushing up out of the soil for a week or two, promising that
spring will be as beautiful as it is bountiful.
If you count your
seasons by the cross-quarter
days, spring will be
here next week, and the birds and I are both feeling it! Forgive
me if I seem a little high on spring....
Our chicken waterer is the best way to get
chicks off to a good start with clean water and dry litter.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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Yesterday felt like spring here in Floyd, Va and it seems like we're in for another one today. Some people are happy about this, but I think we're going to have one heck of a tick problem this year, and I've already heard of three people I know in our community who have contracted Lyme's disease in the last couple of years. Also the wilt fungus and beetle problems that are killing off oaks will probably get another foothold, not to mention kudzu and other invasive plants that are usually kept in check up here by the cold winters. And, of course, there will be little to no sap run for the maple sugar lovers around here (we were borderline as it was with fewer sugar maples this far down the map).
So while spring is nice, I do hope we get a couple of weeks of a nice cold snap with a few inches of snow before the lilies start to bloom.
For the first time since we moved here, we actually had snowdrops blooming on January 1 this year (we're up in PA, so we're further north than you, but not in the mountains). It was very disturbing to my psyche, I assure you. Our eco-systems are made to have winter, so I can't help but feel that this almost complete lack of winter is going to cause problems.
Plus, having grown up in the snow belt, I get very cranky when there's no snow!
Boy, I seem to have opened up a can of worms with my fluffy spring post.
John --- I need to make a post about Persephone days and seed starting. I generally go by soil temperature to start seeds --- the Persephone days alone don't help much with that. But I'll make a post soon about it, so won't go into it more now.
Everett --- I know what you mean, but at the same time, weather around here is nothing if not erratic. We had a colder than average winter last year, so having a warmer than average one this year will just even it out, I think. (Not that I'd mind a cold snap that would freeze the driveway and let us drive in some mulch, but only if it happens soon before the buds start waking up!)
Sara --- I was emailing with someone in Florida who had her AC on over Christmas. Now that's disturbing.... Clearly, I'm not cut out for the true south.
Debbi --- I wouldn't worry about your daffodils. They're pretty resilient! They'll pause when it gets cold and then grow again. I'll bet you'll get blooms no matter what.
J --- Thank you so much for spreading the word!
Ikwig --- The mountains sure do make a difference. No blooming snowdrops here yet! That would be pretty odd.