More Flowers.

4-8-21 SHORT HILLS: The weather has been lovely, if a little dry. Fortunately the sprinklers are running after a few repairs. I have finished the spring fertilizing, mostly treating shrubs and trees that I planted, not the volunteers. 

Viburnums, burning bush, spice bush, rose-of-Sharon grow all over the yard and are on their own unless one is in a special spot, I don’t treat them. Most of the shrubs get generic 10-10-10 fertilizer, and the acidophiles get Holly-tone. There are a lot of holly volunteers, but I only fertilize the smaller ones or ones that I transplanted. 

The spring flowers and bulbs get a taste if they’re up. There are very few perennials in this yard––no sun when all the trees are out. It’s sunny now, but in a month will be a shaded yard. 

I’ve continued pruning winterkill and deadfall as shrubs come into leaf, and I can see what’s dead or alive. 

The march of the flowers continues. I’ve seen bumble bees and a couple of butterflies across the yard. The birds seem to have paired off, except for the grackles, who continue to act like gangsters. They go to the feeders in a mob and intimidate and chase away anybody who might be there. 

New blooms: saucer magnolia, Yoshino cherry, violet, clatonia, pulmonaria, purple lamium.

Yoshino cherry tree. They come out a week of so earlier than the pink, Kwansan, cherries. These actually make cherries that the birds devour, which makes me wonder why there are no volunteers in the yard.

Saucer Magnolia is definitely one of the highlight of spring. Driving around town one sees them all over.

Clatonia is another spring ephemerial, popping up all over in white petals with red pinstrips, standing tall at two inches.

Violet is another early delight, this foliage lasts all season. They also come in white and yellow.

Pulmonaria, so called because the leaves reminded someone of lung tissue. They bloom a long time and the foliage lasts all season.

Purple Lamium is the first color of lamium to appear. The others are pink, white and yellow and all make a nice ground cover. Yellow is the original and most vigorious and the other are hybrids.

More Yellow.

4-4-21 SHORT HILLS: It started out cool this morning, but warmed up when the sun came out. We did a short dog walk with Bebe and Ron and Sunny. We shortened it so to not stress Kaley after her radiation treatment, and she did fine. 

In the afternoon I did some trimming and pruning off winter kill, now that new growth has started. I did the clematis by the kitchen door and the hydrangeas and roses. I cleared a little dead fall and some broken branches on the junipers. 

Tomorrow the sprinklers get serviced, and I will start spring fertilizing of trees, shrubs and perennials.

New blooms: marsh marigold, peace lily [in the sun room].

Marsh marigold will soon explode with more yellow for a few weeks and then vanish until next year.

A big lily flower appeared almost as soon as the sun got high enough in the sky to shine in through the sky lights in the sun room.

Yellow Season.

4-1-21 SHORT HILLS: It was cold and windy this morning with rain and, briefly snow, but now we have sun with the wind and cold. The colder weather doesn’t seem to have slowed the march of blossoms into April.

It’s Yellow Season—forsythia, spicebush, daffodils, dandelions, march marigold due momentarily—and two goldfinches on the feeder yesterday almost completely dressed in summer finery.

Kaley, our friendliest dog ever, started having nose bleeds a few weeks ago. After a rapid and extensive, and expensive, evaluation at BEVS in Burlington, VT, disclosed Stage 4 nose cancer, we opted for treatment with stereotactic radiation. A center in Clifton, NJ, PetCureOncology, provided the treatments quickly and with a lot of smiles from the staff. We knew it would be expensive when the first discussions were about financing. 

We are all hoping for the one year response they thought reasonable to expect. Kaley endured all the diagnostics and therapeutics without a whimper. She actually hasn’t shown any symptoms except the bleeding. Thanks to Dr. Rebecca Stevens in VT and Dr. Kelsey Pohlmann in NJ for expert care and compassion.

New blooms: pachysandra, squill, dandelion, daffodil.

Forsythia says spring.

Daffodil also says spring.

Spicebush adds more yellow.

Pachysandra joins the spring parade.

Siberian squill pops up now and is on the scene for a few weeks and then gone for another year, like the snowdrops and other ephemerals.

Vinca minor, creeping myrtle, blooms now, but the foliage is evergreen, like pachysandra.

A robin poking around in last fall's leaves for creepers.

Kaley after her day in Burlington.

Soggy Days.

3-28-21 SHORT HILLS: The last few days have been rainy except for yesterday when we had a visit from Anna and Gardner. The rain has been fine. I was worried about things getting too dry before the rain started. It has slowed progress on my projects list. Aside from the rain, things have stayed very mild, more like May than March.

We did a walk at Loantaka Park with Lynn and Bill during a lull in the rain a few days ago. On a different day, Judy and I went back to the Great Swamp Preserve. Almost all the snow is gone, frog songs have started, and birds are returning. We didn’t see anything unusual, but got a few pix. There was one day during all the inclement weather that was very windy and blew a new load of tree debris down on us. 

New blooms: andromeda, vinca minor, forsythia, spice bush. 

An Eastern Phoebe at the Great Swamp Preserve.

From the Preserve boardwalk--no leaves, but no snow either, frogs and turtles are at work.

A cluster of turtles, Painted Turtles specifically, warming up after a long winter's nap. Four are easy to see, but three more are back there.

If you've wondered where all the Canada geese come from, here's one on an early nest.

More crocus from our yard.

Andromeda is our earliest shrub, offering bunches of these little, white bells.

One thing that comes with lots of clouds--interesting sunsets.

Red and Orange.

3-23-21 SHORT HILLS: Another May-like day, we’re getting spoiled. I was at Home Depot yesterday to get fertilizer and saw several quince and bought one. I was looking for the camellias that they had a few weeks ago, but they’re all gone. 

So I threw out the first shrub to open the season. The quince went near one of the English hollies on the south border. It’s Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Orange Storm’, after that I did a bit of pruning. While on break, I take a lot of breaks, I saw a big bird land on top of the Dawn Redwood, which is 60-70 feet tall. She/he stayed in place long enough for me to get the cam and a few pix—red-tailed hawk. For a moment there were two on the tree top, but the other left.

Red-tailed Hawk from a lofty peak.

Looking the other way, all those balls on the tree are the cones, ready to drop.

Saying 'Good-Bye' and showing off the red tail. Sorry it's a bit fuzzy.

Spring is Here.

3-21-21 SHORT HILLS: It is spring here. Today and yesterday were warm, shirtsleeve days with lots of sun. We got back from VT in mid-afternoon to find the last of the snow piles down to a snowball sized piece. All the early shrubs and trees show swollen buds or small leaves just opening. The grass is greening up. Pollinators are flitting around. The birds are pairing up. Snowdrops are everywhere and lots of crocus and snowflakes are open. 

Today I raked up the debris in the driveway and on the terraces and paths around the house and the part of the lawn behind the house. I dumped several tarp-loads of leaves and sticks on the compost pile. I pulled a bunch of sticks out of the shrubs and broke them up. 

The many jobs to be done always seem overwhelming at this point, but in a few weeks everything will be done, including fertilizing, pruning, planting new stuff where needed. 

Now that everything is in business, I am terrified about new snow storm, but the 10 day forecast looks OK. 

New blooms: snowflake, elm, red maple. 

Snowflake is an obvious cousin of snowdrop, opening a few days later.

Crocus are such a bright surprise and welcome burst of color at this time.

More crocus.

Pussy willow buds.

Maizie often walks around with me, here lying in the pachysandra.

Sugar Season.

3-18-21 VERMONT: The Ides of March have come and gone. St Pat’s Day has past. It’s still winter here, but signs of spring are visible. We still have a ton of snow around the house, but the sunny spots are showing bare ground, and those areas are getting bigger. The piles under the eaves are huge. In past years they have lasted well into April.

At the base of the foundation on the south side of the house, the sun has warmed the bricks enough to melt the snow, and the snowdrops have responded with flowers just opening.

The sugar maples are festooned with metal buckets collecting the running sap, and Steve and Diana are boiling at the sugar shack.

The road varies between frozen and muddy depending on the ambient temp. Today it’s muddy, the temp is around forty and there’s a steady drizzle. 

New blooms: Snowdrops.

Snowdrops bloom almost as soon as they're free of the snow.

Along the road, the maple are giving it up. The roads are often lined with maples for convenient sap collection. There are probably two dozen buckets on these trees.

Here's a bucket from a few days ago when it was colder and the sap was frozen.

Sweetness happening. Smoke and steam are pouring out of the top of the shack.

Our replenished wood shed. Stacking by Sam and Lily. Thanks, Guys.