Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[jvls1942]

despite all the rain, we still have some snow
t oday we have freezing rain. it seems to be melting. 32F at noon.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The stoop outside our door was glare ice last night and this morning. The deck steps too as one dog found out trying to go up them last night to escape the rain. We had a bunch of big branches bust off our large pine tree, and one of our birch trees is bent down. I'm not sure if it can go back to upright. Lots of ice on the branches.

 

[Callender Girl]

Lisa, I hope your birch is able to recover.

Erratic weather continues. Yesterday, it snowed again. Today, it should hit the mid-40s with afternoon sunshine, so I didn't bother to shovel -- except the ramp so the dogs and I wouldn't slide down to the sidewalk.

My sister is coming up today for a visit. I had visions of us doing some outdoor work, but I'm sure it will be too muddy. There's rain in tomorrow's forecast.

On Friday, I noticed some rhubarb peeking up out of the ground. I am looking forward to my annual creation of rhubarb sauce -- that never goes on anything; I eat it all by itself.

Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah just announced its annual heirloom plant sale, so I am planning a trip to northeastern Iowa on May 9. Cherokee Purple tomatoes are always on my must-have list.

 

[jvls1942]

Barb, I think your sister checks the long range forecast before she decides to visit,
All we get for weather is cold, snow and freezing rain,. Annie likes to drive to town. I always ask what are the roads like, I do not want to sit in a ditch waiting for a tow truck,.
I have a hunch that there will be lots of chickens for sale in late fall/early winter,/ when these first time chicken people realize that chickens are not much fun in the winter,. might be a good time to replace/ add some layers to your flock/
some people in Antigo are still out of power after 5 days/ falling trees snapped off power poles and took down lines.
DD Brenda's big pine tree dropped several large branches/, took down her power lines. a neighbor came over and cut the branches up for her, She lives in Wausau,.
The state park, Rib Mt is closed, due to the height, the ice is an inch thick all over,. trees are falling across the road and in the woods. the hiking trails are closed , too.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Several inches of heavy wet snow here, I'm surprised we have power because it used to go out often. We havent had any wind so that helps.

I'm sure your right Jim, about the new people getting chickens. A person might just be wiser to pay for grocery store eggs and wait it out.

 

[Cebarmlds]

The power did go out later in the morning, only 2 1/2 hrs.

 

[Callender Girl]

Suddenly, Iowa weather seems really good -- and I rarely believe that! Hope you all are done with the serious wintery crap, and especially power outages!!

Yes, Jim, I think my sister may be looking at the forecast. Mere hours after she left yesterday, the sun came out and I could clearly see all the projects we didn't tackle. A new BYC member lives close by and is coming out for a coop tour on Sunday. Guess I'll be cleaning and repairing stuff on my own and quickly -- so I don't look like a poultry "slum lord."

I suspect you are also right about first-time chicken owners not enjoying the experience of winter with hens. I sure don't.

Despite Mother Nature's best efforts, my Siberian Squills popped out of the ground and are offering up their tiny blue blooms. Hurray! Seems like spring might actually arrive soon.

 

[Callender Girl]

How's everybody doing? Is the weather improving any in your parts of the world?

I haven't removed the mulch yet, but I can see two hearty strawberry plants peeking through in the bed. I'm hoping for more, but I'm forcing myself to leave their covering alone. We just had below freezing temps again last night.

The new BYC member came out Sunday and, unlike many of my friends who neither have nor want chickens, he seemed genuinely interested in my blathering about coops, eggs and poultry.

It's good that he's researching coops first, since it's tough to get chicks now. The Iowa hatcheries don't seem to be taking orders or are only taking very limited ones. I was at Bomgaars yesterday, and it was the first time this year that I've seen any chicks in their brooders. It was only Cornish Rocks and White Leghorns, and not many of either.

 

[jvls1942]

33f at 7am
we have a cardinal pair building a nest in a flower pot on the deck/ right next to the patio door,
we hope the cat doesn't come around to that side of the house/ the male has been fighting with his reflection in the door all morning, I hope he doesn't wear himself out.
Barb, is your new friend going to join us on here?

 

[Callender Girl]

The cardinal nest sounds cool! I hope the cat leaves it alone.

When we lived in town, there was a cardinal who seemed to have fallen in love with his reflection. Every morning, he would "talk" to it as he perched on the supports for the truck's driver-side mirror. We called him Pretty Boy.

The new member is not likely to join us on this thread. An out-of-state transplant (not even a Midwesterner I can never figure out why anyone moves to Iowa. My excuse is that I was born here). He's still researching coops. He was initially interested in one of the easy-to-clean plastic ones. But he really liked my avatar coop.

If he waits long enough, maybe there will be a better supply of chicks available.

In the meantime, the grass is greening up, the lilac bushes have the beginnings of tiny leaves and the daylilies are peeking through the remains of last year's fallen leaves.

Asparagus is a sure sign of spring, but none of mine is showing up yet. I broke down and bought some at Aldi.

Warmed up to higher than 60 yesterday and there was sunshine. Perfect for two hours of yard work! And, for a sore hip and back today.