Is It Over?

[sheepdog 10]

The ground hog that predicted an early spring needs to be sent to the taxidermist. Boy was he ever wrong! Every warm spell we get I keep thinking ok, this has got to be it, the end of winter, spring is hear, time for warm weather. And every time I think that we get blasted again with another cold snap! For crying out load, we had SNOW yesterday!!!! My goats are almost done kidding, I have apricots on my trees almost as big as the end of my little finger and we get snow????? This weekend has been miserable. I thought friday I was going to freeze to death. Of course we are long since out of propane at the house, and we keep thinking it's the end of the cold so are only cutting a tiny bit of wood at a time so there is never enough of it for emergency cold days. Had to hang out at the kennel which is a good thing, we still have propane there of course. I felt colder that day than I had all winter. Of course, for the 2 days before that I had been running around in shorts sweating my butt off because it was 80 degrees. Of course, friday was a busy day too, had 3 dirrerent families picking up their pups. I had to basicly to curb service, one couple never even got out of their truck, I just carried the pups to them. I really don't like having to do it that way. I normally have a little play pen set up outside I can put the pups in so the people can see them run around and play, but it was just way to cold and wet and nasty to put the pups on the ground. this is making me rethink how I want to build my future play pen, I may put a lot more roofed over area than I originally thought I would, just so I have a dry area to show pups in.

 

Needless to say, the flower bed is not yet planted, I have tomatoe plants sitting in the frount room turning yellow from lack of sunshine, a pepper plant almost 2 foot tall that will probably die of shock by the time I get it set out, and I still have some bulbs and now, 2 more trees to plant. Managed to get 3 more planted today, at least there are only 2 left. I think we planted over 20 trees this year. I saved up all year and kept track of my number of purchases so when I had my 10 visits in to Big Lots I would get my 20% discount about the time their trees came in. It worked out but I was pretty dissapointed with their selection this year, I didn't figure I'd find any cherry trees but was hoping at least for some plum but they didn't have a single one. I did finally find some at another discount store though, along with some nectarines, so I ended up buying 9 more trees. I'm actually running out of places to put trees now, and I still want a bunch of cherries.

 

I sure hope this cold snap is the last one! I'm almost afraid to say it has to be, since every time I do we get hit with another one.

[comp2 1]

Well living in lower Alabama for some time now I can say that this spring has been amazing. Not quite pool weather yet but getting close. The walks on the beach almost every morning are my favorite. The thing I am hating right now is the "alabama snow" aka pollen. It covers everthing out side.

[sheepdog 10]

Ah, your a Southerner! Alabama is nice, it usually has mild weather year round, at least compared to Missouri. But we have no shortage of pollen here either! For the past week or two everything here has been coated with a dull yellowish green haze. And all those fuzzy curly cues that fall off the oak and other trees that get into everything. Our yard furnature is covered with them. They are kind of gross looking, like worms or something. And the tent catapillars are out in forse this year. I don't know how many nests I've raked off my fruit trees. These worms are extremely damaging, they can strip a tree in no time at all. I just hate them. I need to go take the time to find a bucket and go around and tear them all down and put them in a buket to save for my chickens. I'm sure that would make them very happy!