This has been a very mild winter for the most part. I am grateful for not having had tons of snow to shovel. And during the coldest days this winter, I was fortunate to be in Las Vegas and completely missed it.
I do think my pipes froze while I was gone. When I turned on the bathroom faucet, the water was murky brown and took a moment to run clear. After that, I had a lot of grit that kept coming through. But it was easier to deal with that inconvenience than to have the opposite occur. I know a lot of people whose pipes burst. For not having to deal with that, I am extremely grateful.
In my backyard, I’m noticing some tulip leaves starting to emerge. I planted a dozen brand new ones in that bed, but the squirrel dug up each one and turned it into a meal. I’m going to take pictures once they fully develop so that I can have a reference should I add additional bulbs to that area for next year. However I learned that I will now cover the freshly planted bulbs with protective screening so the squirrel can’t get to it.
I ran across a really good deal on some planters that I can attach to my back porch. I’m already imagining beautiful flowers growing from them. I’m also starting to pre-think my vegetable garden. I grew watermelon last year, but didn’t know they need to be on black plastic to encourage their growth along with a chicken wire covering to stop the squirrel from munching on it. Should I want to start certain plants from seedling indoors in order to get them planted outdoors, now is the time.
I saved my zinnia flower head seeds from last year. I have an entire shoe box filled. May 15 is our last frost date, so I’m going to begin to spread the seeds around. I’ll put different amounts of seeds down every two weeks so that the growing period will be at different stages to create a continuously flowering bed. Last year I got a lot of compliments on how pretty the flowers were out front. I want to repeat that same effect this year.
Several years ago, I lost the best handyman Austin offered. I’m still looking for a new one. I purchased a brand new flower box for my front. It’s a little too big, so I need someone to cut it down to fit underneath the front ledge. With all the thousands of homes here, why should it be so darn difficult to find someone to do small jobs? Where is our version of Black entrepreneurs like the ones who stand around Home Depot looking to be picked to do work?
I’m going to keep jotting down my list of things to do outside this spring and summer.
The best part is it should not be a very long list.
