When you notice the tops of the oak trees start to get 'fuzzy', and the red flowering trees and tiny green leaves of the willows in the swamp between here and New Orleans, you know it's almost time. But it's when you see the deep green grass and weeds creep up to the edges of the roads, you know there's no stopping it...spring is actually here (!) I tromped around outside to see what's what and look for signs and there are many, many signs of the new season...clover, ah yes. And various other wildflowers...now don't you people from the frozen north get jealous, although I am glad we are not in the land of snow. Come August or so, remember you'll be having the famous last laugh.
In the garden, things are peeking out from way, way underneath. So we never got around to cutting back the 'sticks' from the perennial sunflowers or the tarragon or the bergamot, but now that all sorts of craziness is happening down at the roots, cutting back old growth is rewarding. Here is the bergamot, as an example...
and the peppermint, coming up from the roots as well, although this we 'weed-eated' in the late fall, to get rid of the old growth:
well - enough of tiny little bunches of new leaves....I mentioned the 'I Hate The Winter Grass' springtime problem, and digging out from it in the garden. It's kind of beautiful, really, because it is a deep dark green when everything else is brown and seemingly dead...but it is a terror just the same. To make my point, here is some probably wonderful fennel - but you can hardly tell, because the winter grass has taken over completely:
and, after nearly two days of hoeing and hand-weeding, here is some of the lettuce that had suffered the same fate, but when you look the lettuce in Whole Foods, and then pull your hand back, thinking "wait. we have lettuce. I'm just lazy"....and now we have lettuce. 
And , after trying to crank up the mower, and going out for a new battery of course, and it could be worse, so that's good...a little part of the yard is mowed, and one flower bed planted, and we work outward from there. In the meantime, the fish we put in the pond in the late fall are growing like crazy...they expect food every day at 5:00 p.m. Don't try to feed them at 4, or 3, because they simply won't eat at that time. It's getting almost scary, the way they boil to the surface. I'm trying not to think of actually eating them, although I look forward to that...but they aren't as anonymous as some other fish from some other pond. that's pretty silly, i know. This is the best I can do for now, but it gives you a tiny idea of what it looks like at feeding time.
More later
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