I got the front garden raked, earlier than usual. Nothing peeking above ground yet, the ground is thawing but only just. I keep thinking about the daffodils showing an inch or two of green leaves when I was in Oregon last Jan, but here and now, they still are safely tucked underground. Temps for the next 48 hours will be just at freezing, then a few days of freezing nights, then we finally creep above freezing. Hopefully for a while.
We are expecting 3-5” of snow and it was snowing when I woke up. It was about 4″ by noon. Tomorrow another 1-3” is predicted. Maine State Govt. just closed the House and Sent Sessions for tomorrow due to snow. I called my landscaper, Warren to ask him not to plow, the biggest problem is that the ground is melted enough that he can’t help but dig it all up and given we are getting another 1-3″ tomorrow and if need be, he can plow then. I can’t see paying twice to clear snow that will be gone in 2-3 days anyway.
I ran into a woman at Hussey’s (“The largest general store in Maine.” “If we ain’t got it, you don’t need it.” and “guns, wedding gowns and beer.”) who commented on her (now proven false) believe that spring had finally started and we ended up in a 5 min conversation about Oregon!
I’ve been wandering around in several of the public gardens in Portland OR this morning, what a feast for the senses. I needed that, while outside the snow is so heavy, it’s had to see distances. And all the while I was feeling snug and warm, in front of my wood stove, a cup of tea at my side. An exquisite Japanese Garden, the finest, they say, outside of Japan. They have a tea house, but I don’t know if they present tea ceremonies. It was started with the idea of building American Japanese relationships in the 60s, part of a movement across the country of such gardens, the idea being we could share the culture without knowing the language. One cool note, a man who spent 4 years working on the garden in the 60s. He had a miserable time and was verbally and physically assaulted the entire time by people because he was Japanese. When he left he vowed he would never return. Sad huh?
But 50 years later he attended the opening of an exhibit there and discovered how much the garden was appreciated and felt “healed.”
I won’t go on now, but I can’t wait to visit them all, and take pictures of all these places for the blog.
There is The Lan Su Chinese Garden, everything in there is from China. All those gardens are required to have 5 aspects, stone, water, plants, poetry and architecture (if I remember right) and I do find myself disappointed with the writing on rocks. I wish the poetry could be expressed in some more natural form. Still, it’s magnificent. Then there is a International Rose Test Garden, and an Arboretum and a Portland Garden. I won’t go on now, but I can’t wait to visit them all, and take pictures of all these places for the blog
The turkeys are also about, and snow or no snow, the males and females are hanging together. These pics were taken a few years ago when they were spending time near the house and I could shoot through the window, hence the limited quality. I am always so impressed with the shining glory of turkeys in the sun. Burnished metals of all sorts, copper, brass, bronze with greens and blue iridescence as well.
Taken through screening, a couple of young males doing no better than their older brothers. I always wonder when the males get a chance to eat during these weeks, which is all the females seem to do. They will put down their plumage and nibble a bit, but the drive to puff up and show off, is too strong to let them get more than a swallow or two. You can tell these are young males because they both have central tail feathers that are longer than the rest of them.
Heads are turning blue.
Same thing, but this one doesn’t change colors. I read dating advice in the Sunday paper and the one thing I keep reading over and over again is, guys, when you want to attract females, keep your clothes on. Maybe they should disseminate pictures of how excited the female turkeys get with such displays.
I will say I finally did see one pair of turkeys couple last year. She plopped to the ground and he walked over, kneaded her back until he got a good footing, sat down and after a moment, got off and walked away, as did she, after shaking her feathers back in place. You just can’t beat the romance of such an act.
There’s a late 12 inch April icicle handing at the bird feeder which a chickadee was clinging to for a few seconds. I’ve never seen a bird clinging to an icicle. They do make lovely icicles around here. There is often a warm spell going into or out of a snow storm in Maine. Last night the snow ended with light rain and icicles abound. I failed to replace part of the roof of the feeder and it hangs above the feeder making a lovely frame for some of the visitors.
The robins are looking particularly disgruntled, they had really been enjoying a return to their summertime meat diet rather than those darn sour sumac berries which is where they spent today. A snow day for worms. Rejoice in your reprieve all you northern worms! I will be grateful for wormfolk today.
I saw a particularly vivid yellow goldfinch and reaching for the phone to take a picture, I frightened the whole flock away but I’m hopeful that they will check in again. I was grateful for the bird, for it’s color and for having a flock of finches which is an entertaining cheerful thing.
I’m grateful for the treat of watching a crow take a sauna, well a crowish sauna. I have a small rivulet of melting snow running down the hill that attracts the birds. One crow after bathing in it, stepped up into the snow, spread its wings and took another snow bath as if drying off. Then a short period of preening each feather back in place and that bird was strutting it’s stuff!
I’m grateful the goldfinches are here, although not that many. The males are mostly still blotchy, even their bills which change color in spring from brown/black to orange. That’s the same change the females go through although they keep their plumage.
I’m grateful this late snow isn’t late enough to bother any tender buds since we don’t have any buds yet, tender or otherwise.