Today is Groundhog’s Day and Punxsutawney Phil will soon be making is prediction… but regardless of him seeing his shadow or not, we have 6 more weeks of winter before spring arrives on March 19th. (Although with our forecast of a week of much warmer temps, maybe spring will be arriving this week!)
I read another week with Margaret Renkl’s The Comfort of Crows and it might just have been my favorite week thus far!
I was so absorbed by the task of planning for spring that I completely forgot how long the wait for true springtime would be…I was remembering my favorite part of planting: the moment when the seedling, fragile as any lace-winged insect or hallow-boned nestling, somehow shoves the clods of earth aside and makes it way upward and outward. Searching for the light. — Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows, an excerpt from Winter, Week 7
Last fall… I invested in spring. I planted LOTS of bulbs and have since been battling squirrels who believed I planted a buffet just for them! I have even seen said squirrels taunting me from the tree gnawing on the big, juicy bulbs they had unearthed. My fears grew and grew and grew… was my hopeful investment for a blooming spring for naught?
Oh, me of little faith!
Crocus peeking out! And yes, the weeds are growing… sigh.
This week a plethora of “proof of life” has been showing in my gardens! I might have even put on my happy pink socks and done a great big happy dance in my soggy back yard!
Daffodils that the squirrels missed!
So even if those squirrels have feasted on a good number of bulbs… some survived and that makes all that work in the fall very much worth it! (Even if Bah Humbug Steve does not agree with me!) Sadly, the alliums that were sending up their delicate tender fronds were mowed back down to ground level. What ate them? I have no clue. I am hopeful their will to live will overcome this tragedy.
Who chomped these wee alliums?!
And… I have one month of stitching done… A Proof of Life from my creative self as well!
Thirty-one days of stitching!
I wish you all a very happy weekend! See you all back here on Monday!
I LOVE your stitching Kat. It is just so fun and varied and full of life. Well-done you! Well done on the bulbs too. Nice to have proof that the squirrels didn’t get them all (I don’t think, BTW, that they eat daffodil bulbs….seems to me I read that or heard that years ago – they never touched ours, but ate all the tulip bulbs…).
There are all sorts of critters out there who seem intent on munching everything (in my neighborhood, it’s bunnies), but somehow things still seem to grow. I think Mother Nature knows what she’s doing! I’ll keep my fingers crossed that your squirrels have had their fill and you soon see many more shoots peeking out of the ground!
I’m glad the neighborhood wildlife left you some bulbs! I finally gave up on tulips since the pesky squirrels and groundhogs teamed up to eat every last one. Your stitching is just beautiful and creative. I hope you have a lovely weekend!
I too love your 31days of stitching. I have slugs and snails that chomp at my bulbs etc too. They do treat the garden as a smorgasbord ! But there are signs of life in my garden too.!Spring is coming although today is chilly
Gah! That stitching! And linen! All the most delicious stuff there. I love when you share that update…
And ugh to the critters. Because investing in bulbs…the choosing and purchasing and anticipating shipment and planting and anticipating first signs — well, you are so right…it IS an investment! I know the critters have to eat, too. But there’s other stuff they could be eating. (And I’ve tried a few tactics. I even tried planting the bunnies their own spinach! And might your squirrels be sharing the jays’ peanuts? So…gosh darn why can’t they leave flowers alone?! I’m hopeful for you that MUCH comes up in the coming months…and that they might have enough bulb babies under ground that, critters be damned, you’ll have gorgeous blooms.
Wow, wow, wow! Thank you for these pictures! We are covered in snow but I’m hopeful for an early spring. I can’t wait to start seeing those early spring flowers! And your stitching is perfect!
That last little bit of stitching is so sweet. Congrats on a very cute finish for the month.
I was going to pass on a bit of garden wisdom from the past — plant a clove of garlic next to every bulb — but then I saw that your alliums had been gnawed to the ground. Maybe you have Italian squirrels?
Nice work on the stitching! Today for once the sun was out, and that made me very happy. We used to have allium in our yard and now, thanks to you, I think I know where it went.
The stitching is so nice. It looks so delicate. I read or heard that squirrels don’t eat daffodils. I would say – maybe, maybe not. I gave up on tulips long ago. A few daffodils survive. Six more weeks of winter doesn’t seem like very long – at least not now.
not only do you get to enjoy your bulbs but so do we! Thanks!!
LOVE the stitching, Kat! 🙂 Did you know . . . that daffodils are the only bulbs (well, I can’t say that I know that for sure, but maybe?) that are toxic to mammals? So squirrels and chipmunks, etc. don’t mess with daffs. (I’ve given up on crocus and most tulips . . . ) XO