Dear March, Come In!

Nature

To March

by Emily Dickinson

Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I looked for you before.

Put down your hat-

You must have walked-

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

And the rest?

Did you leave Nature well?

Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,

I have much to tell.

....................

I know it's technically still February, but I couldn't resist posting the first stanza of this poem about March.  You can go here to read the rest of Emily Dickinson's poem.

I'm hoping that as we move into March, one of my favorite garden centers will no longer look like this.

It's still cold outside....

So I had Phillip do a little planting inside.

Some basil, chives and parsley.

He included a peach pit that

he'd saved from last summer.

Many famous people were born on March 1. There's Ron Howard the actor/director, Harry Belafonte the singer/songwriter, Robert Lowel the poet, and Deke Slayton the astornaut. But none of the people born on the first day of March is more loved by me than my son who was born on this day in 1968. Happy Birthday to my favorite son.

A Day Late & A Lotta Blooms Short

Here in the frozen tundra, I've got nothing in the bloom department to share for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. This red twig dogwood and the texture of the tree bark will have to do for the month of February. I often complain about the unruly growth of these shrubs in our yard, but they do serve a purpose in the winter and provide us with some pretty red bark against the white snow.  

Couldn't find much worthy of GBBD while walking around my yard, so I decided to look up. I should do that more often because I saw a jet leaving a beautiful white stream in sky. The jet looked like a cross to me and it churned up a bunch of thoughts while I stood out there in the cold looking at it.

It gets necessary around here this time of year to look for color where ever possible. I was waiting for Phillip to come out of school one day and was struck by how the school buses and playground equipment were providing the only color in sight.

The young man in black is Phillip. He could use a colorful hat, wouldn't you say?

Carol at May Dreams Gardens is the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Go visit her and find out how you can participate on the 15th of every month. She's not only a good host, she's smart. Can't beat that combination.

It's Been One Year

It was one year ago today that I published my first post. So, Happy Bloggiversary to me. I'm using the same photo I used on that first post because I'm short on time, I like the photo and it's a good way to wish all my blogger friends a Happy Valentine's Day.

Try Not To Miss Me:)

Starting later today, I'll be without a computer for a while. Although I'll miss visiting all your blogs, it'll be interesting to see what all I accomplish with time away from the computer.

I couldn't resist changing the header photo to a warm, sandy beach scene. The picture was taken by Phillip's mother when they were on vacation a couple weeks ago.

These photos are from yesterday when Phillip was here. He and the two children from next door, Caitlyn and Joe, had fun the old-fashioned way.....they played outside. Lucky, the dog, joined in the fun. When they came in from outside, I made them hot cocoa using Hershey's Cocoa instead of the usual instant Swiss Miss cocoa mix. It was a hit!

What A Difference 5 Months Make

This is how one of my favorite flower beds looked on September 19, 2009. Our average high temperature on this date is 69 with a low of 46. The record high for this date is 92, the record low 28. The first killing frost in Brown County usually takes place October 4-10.

Here's the same flower bed on February 4, 2010. Our average high temperature on this date is 26 and the average low is 9. The record high for this date is 44, the record low is minus 24. Typically our last spring frost occurs from May 10-16.

It's too soon for me to be feeling giddy about the prospect of spring, but I'm already thinking/dreaming about the new growing season. Until the snow has disappeared from the ground and melted off of the rooftops, I'll have to be content with visiting my blogger friends who are lucky enough to enjoy early springs.

Garden Bloggers' Muse Day - 02/01/10

Carolyn at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago is home to Garden Bloggers' Muse Day. Post a poem on the 1st of the month and then leave a comment on Carolyn's blog to let others know you've done so. The best part of this day is finding all the wonderful poems and photos that others have shared.

This field is close to the library that I visit and I keep wondering why the cabbage was never picked.

I had to go in search for a poem about cabbage and found more of them than I imagined possible. This short, silly poem seemed perfect. It will never be confused with the other great poems found on Garden Bloggers' Muse Day, but still it's fun.

LOVE IS LIKE A CABBAGE

My love is like a cabbage

Divided into two,

The leaves I give to others,

The heart I give to you.

Author Unknown