Rockwood gardening 2

Just over a month ago Mike brought my dead-looking geraniums upstairs and I've been feeding and watering and generally "nursing" them all month... here are the same ones I put on the blog early in the month (Thinking Spring/Feb. 28) - aren't they looking great? I keep hearing from my friends in the "banana belt" about dafodills etc. popping up and blooming - and I have to agree, seeing something green and growing is good for what ails us after a long winter!

The woodpeckers have been busy this past week, which is another sign of spring - I'm seeing quite a bit of "new home construction" in a couple of aspen trees near the house!

We're starting to get a lot of calls about canoe trips and cabins :) ... so it's probably time to do some serious vacation planning if you have a specific date in mind!

Gardening challenge

Gardening - flowers or veggies - is a bit of a challenge around here in the Big Woods! Earlier today I "prepped" the planters that go in the apartment building window boxes... pulled out all the dead plants, stirred up the soil, and put it outside to weather a bit before I plant new seeds.

The immediate result? Instant red squirrel digging happily away looking for last year's seed pods - and a deeply interested cat on the other side of the window, ready to spring over my indoor flower pots in pursuit of the squirrel and accidentally break off as many of the new geraniums sprouting in those planters as get in the way!

And, of course, any of my perennials that are stupid enough to pop up (won't happen for another month or so - we've still got a LOT of snow on the ground) will get eaten by fresh greens-starved snowshoe hares and the occasional moose. I guess this will be another year I rely on friends from less animal-populated areas for my peppers and tomatoes!

Winter baskets

I've had some friends ask how my winter art project is coming along, so thought I'd share this photo of this year's pine needle baskets (so far). It was a good year for needles - nice and long... the weather really makes a difference. Two years ago we had a lot of rain over the summer and the needles were the longest I've ever seen, last year wasn't as wet, but wetter than the dry year three years ago! I was able to find more small pine cones this year - I'm not sure why! Each basket takes from 10 to 30 hours to make, so it does keep my hands occupied and my mind wandering most of the winter! The needles and cones, of course, all come from around here, so they make great reminders of the BWCA and Rockwood!

March

Pretty quiet around here these days, though there have been a few more snowmobiles around the last week or so. I hear there are a few crappies getting caught across from the resort as well as a few walleye! Mike's antique sled doesn't like the deep snow, so he hasn't been out.

Lots of snow... an inch or so at a time, it's snowing lightly right now. The forecast calls for more as the week progresses - must be March? Our little red squirrels have tunnels all over the yard, here's one popping up to check for whatever's around - he apparently has carried sunflower seeds from beneath the feeder down to his entry hole. All of a sudden we have squirrels all over, sometimes they meet in the tunnels and you hear squirrel battles, followed by a very angry squirrel popping up at both ends! The birds are flocking, and Mike says he saw a Canada Jay carrying nesting materials yesterday. Spring is coming... just very slowly!