Spring Blooms

The difference outside from a month ago is actually extraordinary and if I hadn’t just looked at photos I took exactly one month apart I wouldn’t even believe it. In that amount of time, the daffodils have come and mostly gone, the flowering trees have bloomed beautifully and our little plot of earth has greened up in the most welcoming of ways.

We have hundreds (thousands?) of daffodils and I love them so but I don’t feel like I got to enjoy them as much this year because we had 3 or 4 days of exceptionally warm weather for this time of year which made them open, and wither, rather quickly. That being said, we made the most of them!

One of my very favorite things about spring are the flowering trees. I just love how cheery they are after a bleak run of months. When we first moved to this property, there were no obvious flowering trees (except wild Dogwoods in the woodland!) so we have set to correcting that oversight (a 200+ year oversight?!?) over the past 7 years that we’ve lived here. So far we’ve planted Dogwoods, pink and white, Redbuds, several different type of Cherry trees, a Silverbell, Magnolias, Crabapples and lots of fruit trees! Along the way, we did discover a clutch of Crabapples that were hidden underneath vines and overgrowth. They are in what is now our orchard.

In the kitchen, I made my first batch of floral jelly. Violet jelly is probably the most special jelly I make because the time to make it is so fleeting, the color is gorgeous, and it is such a harbinger of spring and all to come. It is gorgeous on a appetizer/charcuterie board. I use the recipe from Fare Isle and I pick wild violets in my yard since we do not spray.

In the garden and field, the tulips have been going strong, though much like the daffodils, they came on fast due to the heat. The same is true for the peonies, though I’m hopeful the comeback of cooler weather has slowed them down.

I planted our lilacs as little, little plants (I ordered them through the mail to get specific ones I wanted) and this has been the first time they have bloomed enough to get some nice cuttings!

While I’ve shared what I think are my prettiest pictures, there is also a harsh reality to owning our property. Along with all the growth we’ve seen this month, the weeds have completely taken over with the daffodils especially going completely bananas. We don’t spray due to our bees, having two waterways run through our property, and in general wanting to do right by our land, but there are times I sure wish we did. In my heart, I want everything to be neat and tidy and to let control of that go can be frustrating. Also, the ticks this year have already been bad. With not much of a winter to speak of, they didn’t die back at all. It drives me crazy that we don’t walk in the woods, picnic in the orchard, or use our property to the fullest due to the ticks! I’ve been wearing light colored work pants which seem to help some (we also spray our work clothes). I’m really, really hoping that the Guinea Hens are making an impact.