Monday Miscellany

Not a lot going on this morning except slop.  We had a significant snow dump over night, and now it's turning wet.  With 40s forecast for today's high, we should lose a lot of the snow.

For now, though, it's just enough to make outdoor life a little miserable. 

In the midst of this snowstorm, I'm admiring my baby geraniums, which are rising out of their pots next to the sliding glass door.  

They're almost an inch high now, and, in the past two years of planting geraniums from seed, I've learned that they're easy keepers.  

Give 'em water and light,  and, by gollee,  geraniums just keep growing, so it's nice to have a start for the upcoming spring garden fun.  

My sisters brought me a blue hydrangea plant for Valentine's Day.  

They bought one each for themselves too, and we'll all do our best nurture them along in hopes of having them serve as memories of our parents, who loved their hydrangeas near the old cottage on their farm. 

So, if we can get these new plants established, we'll be able to think of Mother and Harold whenever we pass by and admire their beauty.

I've also planted pansies from seed.  Seems like they aren't as easy to maintain as geraniums.  In fact, my method of using those plugs of potting soil that rise up when watered has not worked well.  

Very few seedlings have sprouted among the 72 plugs planted. Gonna have to go a different route with the pansies, I think.  

Soon, this year's  'mater seeds will go into some dirt, and I'll love watching them pop up.  

Beyond the above-mentioned, I think I'll just wait until after we return from Ireland to think about any other garden projects.

Speaking of which, we're down to about 36 days before departure.  We learned a while back that another Sandpoint friend was gonna be in Killarney same time we are-----at least, we thought she was.  

She wrote me a note last night and gave me her dates, which show a return from Ireland the day before we leave, so, unfortunately, we'll miss her.

BUT she's got cousins there, and she says her nice cousins will line up a couple of fun activities while we're in Killarney, including a possible fishing trip for the anglers among us. 

Nice to dream about the stuff ahead, especially on days like this, and while I've been dreaming through my fingers, the snow has stopped and birds are singing outside the window.  

Probably a brief interlude, but we'll take it.  I love the hints of spring, especially through bird music, that we experience during February.  At least, in February, we can take these signs much more seriously than when they come in January.

That's enough for this Monday morning.  Enjoy your day.