The Skies of March

March has been an unsettled month with many stormy days, some cold temperatures, some bright skies and warm breezy days, all jumbled together in no particular order. 

Spring washed in with the rains of this turbulent month, and trees budded against the changing sky.

Above, the lower photo on the right is my weeping higan cherry tree. I took the following pictures of that same tree on a damp, dreary day. You can read the history of this tree (and a little of my history, too) in my post We are survivors.

I captured this budding magnolia tree on a crisp, sunny morning.

The other day had it all. Dawn arrived with cold temperatures and gloomy skies. A stormy morning was followed by a pleasant, sunny afternoon, then the clouds and rain returned toward dusk. Amazed at what I saw, I shot these photos in the rain as the day closed with a fiery sunset.

March! Moving on, that's the way it is.

Tiger in the Wild

I was almost attacked by a tiger yesterday. This is what happened:

I was spreading fresh pine straw in the woodland garden. Pine straw is a readily available mulch in my area. I love the way it neatens the planting areas, and it has a great smell. I was bent over, my head down as I spread the straw around some hydrangeas. A movement caught my eye, and I glanced up.

Garden the cat, who does not belong to me, was a few feet in front of me. Her belly was low, and she was creeping forward, stalking her prey. Obviously, the prey was me. She halted when she saw me looking at her.

"What are you doing," I asked, "playing tiger in the wild?"

Her eyes narrowed for a moment as her body tensed. Then she pounced.

I thought she was going to land on my head, but instead Garden dove headfirst into the pine straw, where she buried all of her body but her rear end and tail. She rolled over and over, kicking pine straw in every direction, until she finally landed on her feet. 

I laughed. "Well, you are frisky!" 

She came up to me, purring madly, and I had to spend a few minutes petting her and picking pine straw out of her fur.

Spring does that to you. Birds and bees and cats and people are all feeling the enthusiasm of the new season. Today I planted carrots, beets, and lettuce in the vegetable garden. Then I planted a few perennials, transplanted some columbine and foxglove, and fertilized everything in sight with fish emulsion. I'm afraid my yard smells fishy, and so do I. But I'm feeling good.

I also took some photos of my garden on this first official day of spring.  Here are a few shots of the lady garden:

This garden is only a couple years old and is in what I call the "little dot" stage, as all the plantings are still small. It is on a slight slope in a clearing in the woods, on the site of my children's old playground. It is my best effort at formality, but it will never be more than a pretender, like a lady dressed in finery but still wearing sneakers.

Colorful flowers and foliage are not hard to find:

I put my camera on the ground to take some photos of some grape hyacinths and got an ant's view:

And here is the woodland garden — see the fresh pine straw!

I hope all of you enjoy the new season. May you feel as frisky as a tiger in the wild!

You may also like: My garden friend, the cat and A spring tease.