M.I.A.

No not us (though it may seem like it to you readers), but the digital camera battery recharger. Doesn't seem that important to home and garden work, does it? But to the blogging of said work it is crucial.

I can't SHOW you any of the wonderful garden happenings around here, but I can break the cardinal rule of writing and TELL you about them:
- The crocuses have finished blooming.
- The daffodils are blooming - why do I have two kinds? I don't know.
- The garlic/shallots bed is growing like gangbusters, especially on warm days. D. got excited when I told him that each leaf represented a garlic bulb.
- Little green leave are appearing on the butterfly bushes - am I supposed to prune the old growth? One neighbor did, one didn't.
- Daylilies are sprouting up all over. Some in the places I transplanted them to, and a whole bunch in places I didn't even know I had daylilies :)
- The peonies are sending up little red shoots, but they are very subtle at this point.
- Violets, I love them. All the violets in the weed patch behind our garage have bloomed, way earlier than I expected. I transplanted them anyway, into about seven areas of the yard. I was worried, but after two day, they look perky and happier than ever. The blooms are so cheerful.
- The Bradford Pears (D. and I call them "popcorn trees") are starting to burst into blossom. And, better yet, the main east and west streets in town are lined with them. It's a popcorn tree parade!
- The lawn looks like crap - are we supposed to do something to it?

I ripped out the wierd wooden "fence" and climbed up to the back of the carport (on the left of most of our pictures), and I ripped down all of the bee ivy. I hate that bee ivy, and this section was totally overgrown. It hardly affects us at all, but maybe the fact that our neighbor has to walk through a gauntlet of bees all summer contributes to why she is so unfriendly to us.

I found a bunch of cool stuff back there - stones, slate, brick edging, and an old marble doorknob. And I scared out a funny little three-legged mouse. He was tiny, maybe and 1.5 inches, and his back right leg was totally lame, just hanging behind him like a second tail. But he scooted around just fine without it.

I've ordered seeds, scoped out a local source for free compost, and will pick up lumber for new vegetable beds next time we hit the Lowe's. So, let the gardening begin!