Winter Yard

We haven’t had very much winter weather this year. Last week I walked around my yard looking for early signs of spring and I found some. The bulbs are coming up. Daffodils and maybe an old hyacinth bulb have come up in the leaf mulch I left in the front flower beds.

There are some irises too. I’m not sure when they came up; they all have leaf damage so they may have emerged very early during a warm spell. They haven’t bloomed the last few years, but the leaves are tough enough that the deer usually don’t bother them.

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The little holly that came up in the bush by the garage is growing enough that I’ll trim back the deciduous bush that has always been a challenge to keep trimmed. I’ll let the holly take over!

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Under the deck where the moss died back in last summer’s drought, we have ferns that seem to be enjoying this warm winter in their protected location. I’ll spread some compost around them.

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The red maple buds are swelling. The tree has had less success in making seeds these past few years with a cold snap coming as the blooms are full and vulnerable. Hope that doesn’t happen this year.

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I took a picture from another vantage point of our bird feeder and the camera. The deck is 1 story off the ground where I am standing. My office window is visible in the right of the picture.

Overall, the yard looks pretty good. It hasn’t rained hard enough to make any muddy spots without grass. So far it looks like my decision to mow the leaves into the yard is working very well. There are some sticks around the base of the oak and sycamore that I need to pick up…and the front flower beds need to be cleaned out. Maybe I’ll start those chores on our next warm day.