@theanimal:
It's cool to imagine creeks and rivers frozen over. I've never seen that with my own eyes.
With the garden beds free of snow, does this mark the start of the grow season for you? Do you already have plants growing inside or are you getting prepared to plant the beds?
I try my best to appreciate all 4 seasons where I live (still working on December and January in the PNW), I like the fact that every month is your favorite.
Ecology- MMG
Re: Ecology- MMG
The frozen waterways really open up the landscape. They are one of the main means of travel here during the summer and winter. The transitions also serve as poignant markers of the start and end of winter (freeze up and break up).
We are still about two weeks away from when we normally plant. Nights are still regularly going below freezing and it even snowed for much of the day two days ago. The average date of last frost here is May 21 and we usually plant in accordance with that, but may try for earlier this year. It is not uncommon for there to be frosts into June. As such, most people around here wait until June 1 to begin planting. We choose to start earlier because the season is so short. If there is risk of frost, we cover our beds with tarps or plastic.
Some friends of ours are even more aggressive and will begin planting as soon as the snow is gone from their beds in the first week of May. As a result, they sometimes get caught by late cold bouts and snow storms that kill their starts. If that ends up happening, they're still able to get new seeds back into the ground before everyone else.
It's getting close! We have our seeds ready and are going to be getting the beds prepared this weekend. A moose stomped through about half of them last fall, so we will be filling in some of the holes and applying some organic matter.
We are still about two weeks away from when we normally plant. Nights are still regularly going below freezing and it even snowed for much of the day two days ago. The average date of last frost here is May 21 and we usually plant in accordance with that, but may try for earlier this year. It is not uncommon for there to be frosts into June. As such, most people around here wait until June 1 to begin planting. We choose to start earlier because the season is so short. If there is risk of frost, we cover our beds with tarps or plastic.
Some friends of ours are even more aggressive and will begin planting as soon as the snow is gone from their beds in the first week of May. As a result, they sometimes get caught by late cold bouts and snow storms that kill their starts. If that ends up happening, they're still able to get new seeds back into the ground before everyone else.