Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my spring mates!  How are you?  We’ve had a few tastes of warming weather and a few smatterings of sunlight, but the cold and gray days predominate.  Someone told me that with so many ice packs on Lake Michigan, it will keep us cool through the summer.  Oh my.  “The worst winter in 100 years” may turn out to be the longest, too.

Saturday afternoon, I heard birds twittering and calling.  It’s such a beautiful sound, especially after not hearing it all winter.  I thought of Mr. drewzepmeister and Ms. Tender Heart Bear.  What a joy to pursue the birds and their calls all year round.  I’m grateful for such creatures and how well some have adapted to urban landscapes.

Señor Zanza and Junior have been out in the yard, cleaning up.  It’s still pretty muddy, so they’re just doing the basics.  Soon enough will be the roar of the lawnmower, the whistle of the string trimmer, and the whine of the leaf blower.  Soon enough the heat and sweat.  Soon enough, soon enough.

Soon enough, too, with the plants poking up from the soil.  Don’t forget to have some extra mulch or branches on hand to protect your plants from early spring frost damage.  The plants don’t know that it was the worst winter in 100 years.  At the appointed hour, they’ll sprout.  And leaf in.  And grow.  They’ll need all the help that they can get to recover from this winter past.  Be kind to your landscape, and it will  you.

It’s nice to hope that the worst of the winter weather is behind us, but we all know that it can snow here in March, April, and even May.  Given the death’s grip that this winter has on our weather,  I expect more cold and snow.

My dears, listen to the birds at the beginning of this video.  They sound just like the ones I heard last week:

Ah, that was beauitful.  Almost as beautiful as my love for my readers and followers, especially my fellow JT Irregulars.  Thank you for visitng my blog today.  Thank you for your comments.  Thank you for your love.

Need to know when the first dandelion will appear on your lawn?  Ask madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Enjoy our slow creep towards warmth, my sweets.  The potholes are terrible.  Some of the temporary repairs are even worse.  Drive carefully.  School is still in session and the streets still ice up occasionally.  Pray for peace.  Wapentake!