Spring

Today was the first real day of spring in Catonsville. It was warm for two days a while back, but the ground was too wet to do anything but walk in the sunshine, and no flowers were blooming. Today it was warm, the daffodils and early cherries are starting to bloom, and the soil was dry enough to get my hands dirty. I spent two hours weeding one of my beds and digging lime and peat moss into the open spaces between the perennials, where I will plant marigolds and cosmos -- this is an open bed, without nets, so only things that deer won't eat can survive there. It was a blissful time, even though the maple trees are also blooming, and the evil miasma of pollen has entered my system with all its baneful consequences.

My little children were outside playing all afternoon.


I took this picture as a record of what the garden looks like at the start of spring. I will be taking these from time to time throughout the year, posting a record of how things look on the south side of my house. Note the gate, which I repaired yesterday after Robert broke it. He tried to jump the fence and didn't quite make it. He was fine but the gate was lying crumpled on the ground, torn from its hinges. "My bad," he said cheerfully, and then waltzed off to play video games.