At long last, the daffodils are blooming! We had a warmer than usual winter (at least through mid-January, when it finally arrived) in the North Carolina piedmont; and as a result, we started seeing daffodils in bloom occasionally on our weekend hikes in state parks very early. These daffodils are typically on the sites of old homesteads, where only piles of rocks mark where chimneys once stood. But our daffodils are stubborn. I have two "fancy" varieties from a catalog, not the common bright yellow daffs we see in the woods. They're slooooow, very slow. Being planted on a north-facing slope doesn't help matters any, either. But yesterday, finally, after a glorious 78-degree day, 17 degrees above our normal high for the date, the buds began to open on variety #1 (variety #2 is waiting for April showers, apparently). Even though it's not quite spring by the calendar and the deciduous trees haven't shown their first blush of green, it is now officially springtime in our yard. The daffodils say it's so.
I'll start by saying that it was much easier to take the cap off than it was to put it back on! We originally took it off (a challenging endeavor in itself) in order to borrow a friend's scaffolding, and it's remained up on sawhorses in our driveway ever since. About a year, actually. What white trash we are, I tell ya! Barry told me that two strong men (like himself) could have lifted it back in place, but I am afraid I didn't quite qualify. And let me just point out, this is a long-bed, full-size F150, not a "toy truck" in the slightest, so the cap is correspondingly longer and heavier than many. Barry ("MacGuyver") craftily designed and built a frame that could support the weight of the cap, and started hoisting it using a come-along. Ooops! The frame was creaking and shifting sideways at the top. More bracing, that was what it needed! After this correction, he re-hoisted the cap, I held it in place, and he backed under it in the truck. It worked! The apparatus was quite a lot of work to build, then disassemble, for such a comparatively small job, but better than putting a friend or neighbor's back out by asking for help. Right?!
Hello all, and welcome to my little place online! I have been meaning to set up a blog for quite some time in order to share photos and life events, from the major (not many) to the mundane (lots of these), with friends and family. I'm a bit nervous about this venture as of course I'd like it to be entertaining, informative, and interesting to all who visit, but it's just like me to feel that I have to be perfect in all areas. I'll try to lighten up a bit on myself and hope that you all will understand if this blog is not always well-written, wildly entertaining, stylish, or deeply insightful. It's purpose is just to share my life with you, so please visit often and add your comments if you're so inspired. Glad to have you here!
At long last, the daffodils are blooming! We had a warmer than usual winter (at least through mid-January, when it finally arrived) in the North Carolina piedmont; and as a result, we started seeing daffodils in bloom occasionally on our weekend hikes in state parks very early. These daffodils are typically on the sites of old homesteads, where only piles of rocks mark where chimneys once stood. But our daffodils are stubborn. I have two "fancy" varieties from a catalog, not the common bright yellow daffs we see in the woods. They're slooooow, very slow. Being planted on a north-facing slope doesn't help matters any, either. But yesterday, finally, after a glorious 78-degree day, 17 degrees above our normal high for the date, the buds began to open on variety #1 (variety #2 is waiting for April showers, apparently). Even though it's not quite spring by the calendar and the deciduous trees haven't shown their first blush of green, it is now officially springtime in our yard. The daffodils say it's so.
