Spring arrived Sunday at 2:21 pm. Though a bit windy at times,  yesterday was good day to be outside. For the first time this year, I am sitting on the front porch this morning with my coffee, listening to the day wake up. There is a sense of expectation in the fullness of the air. The moon has a rosy ring around it. Here and there, stars poke through the clouds. Galena Creek is noisy as the water flows rapidly over the rocks. Out on Rt. 52 the occasional early bird passes on his way to work. Except for the rushing creek, there is silence. No animal sounds.

7:00 am

I left the front door open and there is a slight chill in the room. It feels good though because it is a spring chill. The birds have awakened. I can hear a half dozen or more different calls. The traffic on Rt. 52 is picking up. I’m going to have to close the door for a bit. The chill is becoming a little uncomfortable.

9:00 am

The sky is partly cloudy. The thermometer on the front porch reads 61 degrees. The forecast calls for rain this evening, but it smells like rain now. Things are turning green and the asparagus is up. We plan to plant spinach and arugula today.

Happy second full day of spring!

On the plus side, the wild flowers are starting to bloom and the creek banks are fragrant with mint. Also, we’re still finding new patches of wild asparagus.

ox-eye daisy

For the last two years, I’ve been moving the asparagus from the tangled slope to a more manageable bed next to the house. However, once that is done, it will take three years before the transplants will again produce those fat tasty stalks. This year, I’m leaving the wild stuff where it’s growing and just cultivating around it. I guess the big story flower-wise are the iris. We’ve got them coming up all over the place…wild, cultivated and a lot that are somewhere in between. The familiar wild yellow irises are dotting Galena Creek from its headwaters to the New River. The previous owner planted iris bulbs all over the hillsides in hopes that they would grow as densely as the day lilies do, choking out weeds and preventing soil erosion. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case. As a result, we’re constantly digging and transplanting the delicate-looking flowers into areas that are more hospitable.

We’re almost through planting the vegetable garden, and I’m headed out later today to purchase some apple trees. Last night, we had an arugula salad from the garden and fresh strawberries. If you haven’t planted arugula before, I highly recommend it. It has nutty flavor with a slight peppery aftertaste. I tossed it with my own Caesar dressing, some homemade garlic croutons, freshly ground black pepper, and shaved, imported parmesan-reggiano cheese.

Iris Photographs

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Palin Watch

America’s leading retard is at it again. Sarah Palin declared yesterday, “It’s time for Americans across this great country to stand up and say, ‘We’re all Arizonans now!”  She’s thrown her support behind Arizona’s appalling immigration law that is so flawed that even the Arizona Association of Police Chiefs doesn’t support it.  Palin seems determined to become the Al Sharpton of the Nut Case Right.  My 2012 Republican dream ticket would be Palin and Virginia Attorney General Ken “The Coochie” Cuccinelli. That would gives us voters the opportunity to tell both of them, “Shut up and go away!“

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