People here claim that it is still winter, and in all reality not much has changed in the weather. It doesn’t drop to 24 degrees like it did on occasion in January – lows above freezing are more the norm now. And our warm days have gotten just a bit warmer – 58.1 last Friday. But with the longer days, nature is fast awakening, and we are now seeing the equivalent of about April 5th in Minnesota. Crocuses are just starting to bloom, and some sweet-scented evergreen shrubs are blooming across town and perfuming the air. Seeing as the spring season lasts through the end of May, I can only assume that this climate enjoys an extended spring – which I thoroughly look forward to.
We are at 0.61″ of rain today, making this the rainiest day since New Years and possibly breaking what has been a “drought” winter here. I say “drought” because even with below average rain the high humidity, clouds, fog, and cool temperatures keep the ground wet and the plants green in the absence of significant precip. But plants here depend on soaking rains in the winter to get them through the almost rainless summer, so farmers are breathing a small sigh of relief today and will be happy to see the rains continue through the week as is currently predicted.
Our chicks arrived yesterday – eight mixed-sex Cuckoo Marans, two Buff Orpington hens, two Black Star hens, and one “free gift” – which has feathered feet and appears to be a Silver-laced Cochin. We ordered ten but they ship a few extra in case some die in shipping. They are now happily peeping under a heat lamp in a large box in our entry room.
Last weekend we set an illegal fire to burn the two large piles of blackberry brambles, tree prunings, old grape vines, and junk lumber in our backyard. Our house effectively hid the fire from the road, but we still held our breath when a fire truck drove by (apparently called to a similar illegal fire a few blocks west). Technically we aren’t supposed to burn until March 1 (don’t know why but it might be air quality issues with all the woodstoves in the winter). But with the long dry spell about to end and the brushpiles sitting on our future garden plots, we decided to go for it. I bought a used chainsaw two weeks ago, and after ordering and installing some parts finally made use of it in pruning and cutting out some small unwanted trees. It subsequently developed a fuel line blockage and is now in the shop getting that looked at.
Along with some chick feed, I bought some bird seed and a hanger pole and hung the two feeders that were left to us by the previous tenants. So with luck I will soon attract in some of our local chickadees, juncos, and flickers.
