I’m happy to announce that my drive home was, for the first time in what is probably months, not pitch black. Considering I don’t leave work until 6:30pm, that’s a very good thing. We are on the upswing to spring, folks, I promise!
I have some flowers to prove it, of course:
First, some idiot roses, now freeze-dried.
One of the massive white ones out back. Clearly wasn’t ready for the cold.
And one of the small pink/red ones out front. What were they thinking to bloom in mid-winter? Okay I do know that roses can’t think. Maybe. I did a science experiment back in the day that made me wonder about that, actually.
On to less-dead things. Of course, the very first flower we see in Ireland is the snowdrop. We haphazardly stuck a few in the ground 3 or 4 years ago, and they are reproducing like bunnies on Viagra.
Love them! These are closed, sorry – I’m not home during the hours of the day when they open up and show their green, bee-orchid bellies.
Crocus are on the way up too. Not open yet, but the poor things are in a spot where we are likely to walk on them. Oh well.
Is that snow? Not by my Northern Ohio standards. It will have to do.
The daffodils caught us by surprise . This time of year I rarely go into the corner where they grow unless I’m doing dog-poop-scoop duty.
They are about 8in tall already – 20cm. Can’t believe I only spotted them on Monday! Guess that means my weed cover grass is too long.
Lastly, the clematis. I have little knowledge of how to care for this plant. I stuck it in the ground at the base of our weed-tree (a grey willow) and let it go to town. iDJ loves them, so these are ‘his’ plants despite me being the caretaker. Any green you see is clematis, or moss…
This one is a couple of years old now – maybe three? I have a bad time sense. Want to say this is the second spring for it, anyway. These buds look so tender, it makes me worry for them. It’s below freezing now and has been most of the day. I have to trust they know what they are doing. Oh – this photo is taken at my eye-level, and I’m 5ft8in (rounded up to 173cm). So, I’m pretty sure the plant is happy and healthy.
Hope all of you are happy and healthy too, and have some signs of spring in your life.
heretherebespiders 
Clematis love to climb and tend to like lots of sun. We have some in the back yard at the corner of the sunroom that climb up trellises. Lovely flowers.
I’m quite jealous that you’re seeing green already. The only green I’ll get for awhile is evergreens and even those are liberally covered in snow. We’re probably up to around 10″ with today’s accumulation.
Yay, first like first comment! You’re my firstie! Was just over on yours reading about the snow. It’s cold here, for sure – especially if you work in a warehouse where they don’t turn on the heat and you have four massive truck-sized doors open most of the day.
I’d like a snow day, please? Me and the dog could have a great time 🙂 Or just me and the camera!
I’ve been inside all day, whimpering. Too damn cold to even step out for a smoke. Plus my back is not cooperating. But yes, snow days are rather fun. 🙂
It’s like a sick day, but you actually feel like doing shit! I’m just glad I got outside to see some greenery at all.
I can appreciate that. The sun is out right now but according to Robo-Phone it’s a chilly 18 degrees.
Oh geez. It was nearly dark here… 3.5 hours ago.
Nope, bright and sunny and bum-fuckin’ cold.
I don’t know what temp it was at 1:30 this afternoon, but it was sunny enough I sat outside for lunch, took my wooly cap off, and even rolled down my socks and up my pants to get some sun on my shins. It was way warmer than inside the warehouse. That said, there was ice and snow in the shade that didn’t even think about melting all day!
Bunnies on Viagra…that just made me literally LOL, which trust me is a difficult feat today. Congratulations! 🙂
Yay! Now, it’s just innocent plant-sex. Don’t get too excited!
All pistols and stamens and such…
(is this allowed on a family blog?)
I think I rated myself X. Just in case.
Love those snowdrops!
They are understated but lovely. Not something I ever remember seeing in the US.
We aren’t nearly in crocus territory here yet, although it’s close and it’s been an uneven winter with a lot of warm days. It’s wonderful how right about Candlemas you really do feel the light swelling. Yay for the Pagan calendar.
We had two days of just at or below freezing – back up to 7 on my way home tonight, though. Lovely and clear, no wind. That moon! It is peeking into my kitchen window now, just gorgeous.
And here we are in southern France and my clematis hasn’t even thought about a bud!
Well that’s weird. It’s been less windy here, until, late in the season. And less cold, until late in the season. I think Ireland officially starts spring on Feb 1?
We woke up to snow today!
Was it fun snow or annoying snow?
It was ‘not enough’ snow! 😎
Awww, rats.
So beautiful. Crocuses are my all-time favorite! I noticed as well that it’s no longer dark at 4:30. Up and up from here 🙂
They still aren’t open! No sun today, fogged in the entire day.
Every year, you surprise me with signs of early spring in Ireland. We’re so far from this. At this time of the year, we are going through the last few cold waves (always hoping this one is the last one). Just yesterday we’ve had a significant snow fall accompanied by a strong cold wind. Roads were terrible. Another two months before we see early signs of springs.
Can’t wait till you begin posting about your flowers again 🙂
I believe our official first of spring is the first of February. It does make sense here, I suppose. That doesn’t mean I’m going to start any seedling yet, of course! I always like it when nature knows better than I do.
The flowers are very confused right now. Dandelions getting blown apart by chilling winds..so they are staying short and low to the ground.
Laughed over the “weed cover” comment – right now the weeds are covering the dormant grass. We need to put weed and feed fertilizer on except that can’t be used under trees/around tree roots…and unlike my energetic neighbor, I just can bear to sit on/in the lawn all day and pull them up by hand…so will just keep mowing short until the weed die from the heat (which I fear is coming far too early)
I actually thought of you when I did the weed cover comment, as you are the master at using the line through the word(s) tool! It probably has a name. What I want to say, or what I shouldn’t say, or what I really mean-tool?
I use some of that weed and feed too, but not around the crocus which are just kinda haphazardly stuck in my grass out front. And not in the little corner where the daffs are, because I always forget what is planted there. Except for my lavender rose, and I’m taking no chance with that!
Think you will have another dry year?
I need to do some old farmer weather research. Arctic front due in next week (Hang in there plants!) Now I’m trying to find some way to run fires ants in the backyard – can’t use the dry bait I normally use out front as Molly can’t get near that stuff. Hot water….more research this weekend at an organic nursery.
Words are easier than weeds in the spring!
Oh no, fire ants… We used sevin dust, or the bait they took into the nest. No dogs, though. I’d say they would take the bait into the nest within hours?
The bait works great. There’s bound to be something…currently irritating the heck out of them by watering their mound a lot. County agent says they will set up camp in the driest lawn…my neighbors don’t have kids or dogs so I I can just encourage the ants to move a few more feet – I’ll buy the bait for them!
Can’t tell you how many times I stood in a fire-ant nest and didn’t realise it until the pain hit! But man, they were the best for cleaning corpses. I’d toss a dead anole or bird on top of the nest, and the next day I’d have a beautiful perfect skeleton.
Those ants march right through pastures and clean up anything in their paths. ( got some nice sculptural bones for weavings, art projects, and still life set-ups that way) Some wildlife people blame fire ants for the disappearance of horny toads in East TX. We used to play with those odd little toads – such funny creatures.
We had them in Florida back in the 70’s! They did disappear, too. Do you now have geckos when you didn’t useta? That happened in Florida, too.
We always had green ones that changed colors – but here there are these odd tan- almost transparent – prehistoric looking ones, too
Those are the geckos! We used to call the other ones chameleons, but they are actually anoles. When I went back to FL in 97, suddenly there were geckos. It was weird.
I used to feed the anoles to my snakes 🙂
These are Molly’s favorite prey..woe to one who enters the house – two sets of paws pouncing…
*sigh* I’m sitting here under four feet of snow.. actually kinda jealous.. but not in a I hate you sorta way.. just in a ‘well it is nice SOMEONE is getting flowers” but being a wee bit sarcastic about it sorta way..
But seriously, it was nice to live vicariously though you.. thank you for sharing them.
Oooh, sorry about the sneacha! We got barely any. I’m seeing buds on my roses and raspberries and blueberries… I can’t wait!
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