Its rainy weather, just in time for the shorebird festival. Dedicated birders are bundled up and camping out on the beach regardless. News report yesterday was kind of disappointing for the festival saying the shorebirds are coming in late. The geese that were here in big numbers last week have moved on and the cranes have retreated to their nesting areas so there are no big flocks to see at the moment. That could change overnight though.
The temperature is approaching 50 F daytime, and staying above freezing at night so I am seeing some plant growth around the yard. Tied for absolute hardiest plant: chives and rhubarb. Both were pushing up long before the ground thawed. The trollius wasn't up first but is gowing vigorously now. The Himalayan blue and Oriental poppies are making up for lost time and also growing like crazy. Roses aren't quite ready to commit to growing yet but have tentatively put out a few tiny branch buds. I wasn't sure they had survived the winter. Not much activity in the trees except for the elderberries (are they shrubs?). What will be the first to flower? I am betting on the trollius but the chives were forming flower buds almost as soon as they broke the ground!
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| Blue poppies |
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| Chives |
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| Elder |
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| A tight fist of fiddleheads breaking ground |
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| Iris |
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| Oriental poppy |
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| Rhubarb |
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| Marie Bugnet Rose |
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| Sedum |
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| Trollius with moose poop |
Update: Tux's Eyes
Tux is not quite two weeks on the eye drops. We are figuring out the best way of administering them and she is, as always, tolerant of our clumsiness. I managed to do it alone, without Bob holding her down, the last couple days. We think there is improvement in the cloudiness but maybe that's just wishful thinking. The red lesions in the corners are still pretty prominent. She sure has been playful the last week, romping with the other dogs and challenging Hooper over throw-sticks, so she is feeling good and not holding grudges about all the manhandling.
