Signs of spring

This being February, we really can’t justify doing much outside yet. But at the moment we have no snow (except for leftover rotten stuff edging shady areas), and it’s hard not to think about spring activities.

The fields are still brown…

…but if you look closely, you can see a fuzz of green grass showing up.

The Brussels sprouts I planted earlier are all popping up.

Cayennes take longer to sprout, so it doesn’t surprise me that only two have poked up tiny spears so far.

We got a delivery of some tractor tires a couple days ago. More garden beds, whoo-hoo!

Speaking of the garden, the chickens have discovered how to get in. I don’t mind at the moment, but they won’t be allowed in when I have things planted. Meanwhile, though, they act like kids in a candy store.

Yesterday Don did something that was long overdue. We have two holes into the house; one under the eaves…

…and one in the wall.

Goodness knows why these holes are here — one of the many quirks of our house — but needless to say they provided shelter for a variety of critters. The one under the eaves was used alternately by starlings or chickarees, both of which make for noisy houseguests. The hole in the wall was used exclusively by starlings over the years.

Already the starlings were starting the preliminary work in both holes to nest. Don decided to beat them to the punch and block the holes.

We’re expecting snow flurries this weekend, but the trend is now upward, not downward for such things as day length, temperatures, etc. Signs of spring!