I'm getting a chuckle out of some Lupine seeds I planted. I've had about 50 seeds of Lupinus perennis kicking around the Studio for two or three years. I'd find them, move them out of the way, lose them, find them again, move them again, etc. and never got around to doing anything with them. Lupine seeds are hard-shelled and not always easy to germinate. I meant to plant them in a pot and put the pot outside over winter, but it just didn't happen. So when I found them again a week or so ago, at first I thought I'd throw them out ('they're too old, they'll never germinate'), then I thought 'what the heck, might as well plant them, maybe a few will grow' and dumped the lot into a 4" pot.
Two days later they all germinated.
I quickly moved 25 of them into small pots and put them in the Studio window. Now they're starting their first true leaves, and they make me smile.
Rosie is really anxious for Spring to get here. The snow has been so deep since mid-January that she couldn't go anywhere. She'd leap into it, disappear, snort her way to the top and leap again... the only place she could walk, other than the path to the Studio, was the driveway. She was more or less confined to a long narrow yard, a yard a quarter of a mile long, but only ten feet wide. Often we walked out to get the paper, which only took us about 5 minutes, and then walked back and forth a few more times just to get some exercise, but it wasn't much fun for an energetic young dog. I've promised her that the woods will be back soon.
Pepper, the feline component of the pet population at Pine Ridge is happy too. She hasn't been very well this winter (she's an old lady), and she likes the warmth in the Spring sunshine. She's enjoying it while lying in it on my desk, which makes a change from walking on my keyboard.
Several squirrels have popped out of their winter hiding places and are chasing each other across the snow and up and down trees. We know what they have in mind.
Bluejays swept in and inspected my crabapple trees and then made their opinions of their lack of edible fruits known, loudly. I said 'same to you, but, sorry, guys'. I've had to stop feeding the birds. The availability of bird seed led to far too many squirrels and chipmunks and ended up attracting a black bear. This was fine until one day I was walking from the Studio to the house, at dusk, and he growled at me. So no more bird feeding. I miss it and I feel a bit guilty, but some people say it upsets the balance of nature to feed birds, so maybe that is right.
Tomorrow I'll buy some new plant trays and get my seed collection out of the vegetable drawer in the fridge... it's Spring!
