Re: Spring (HAH!)

Sounds good, except for the feline fertilizer.  I am moving out to the
greenhouse today, although I still have to traverse a 4' deep snow drift to
get there: not a problem if it holds my weight, but if it doesn't...

I took the last opportunity to go skiing this morning.  It is supposed to go
into the fifties for the next three days, with above-freezing temps at night
as well.  I CAN HARDLY WAIT!

Subject: Spring (HAH!)


> Dear Hosta Folk:
>
>    A spring  e-mail. It's about 7:00 here on the frozen tundra of southern
> Vermont. There remains 3 feet of snow but the promise of a spring thaw can
> be felt in the air (just not in Vermont). It's now 13 degrees, but by 3
> this afternoon it well may be 33 degrees. I will get my garden clothes
out.
> Just the thought of watching icicles actually drip, is filling me with
joy.
> I will warn the neighbors.
>
> The wire of the dog run which hangs just beyond the bay window where I
type
> and watch my garden for signs of life, now droops so that the center is
> nearly two feet closer to the lawn. The wire had been taut in November. I
> figure that the extreme cold had compacted the earth and my land had
> condensed. Or just possible, the glutinous birds that have lined up  along
> the line for months, produced the sag. Or I suppose it could be  the
> barking dog beneath the birds ,speeding back and forth and attempting
> flight. The birds shift and change position  as my dog's  chain  whizzes
by
> on the wire. Its a game for al of them. But the birds win. My dog has not
> perfected flight, unless she is leaping in the air to catch a tiny piece
of
> greasy cheeseburger (one piece a week...both she and I).
>
>   Following the great tradition of wild berries growing up under the
> cleared land beneath  telephone poles in the wilderness, the birds bomb
the
> wildlife below (which barks even louder)  with their fertilizer containing
> undigested seeds and other things designed to torment a small Sheltie.
>
> And speaking of this fertilizer, I have spent the   winter of 2002 and
2003
> sanding the icy walks and driveway at least once a day. The sand goes on,
> and by some miracle is absorbed into the ice (without a thaw) and is now
> layered below the refreshed and glossy surface of the  new ice on top. Two
> weeks ago I switched to kitty litter so  that  standing and walking on the
> ice in an upright position was at least possible, if not likely(the town's
> ice hockey team now skates up and down my street). This kitty litter was a
> new scented variety, which does indeed attract cats. It attracts cats with
> a purpose. My walkways and the driveway are now one giant litter box for
> cats. Build it and they will come. Cleanup is going to be special this
> year.
>
> I have taken my hosta seedlings from about 2,500 down to 200.  This was a
> good year for for me.  I lucked out with streaked seedlings from H.
'Warick
> Comet' (which should not have happened), and H. 'Dorothy Benedict' gave me
> 25 % variegation with extremes in color.  The old faithful breeders did
> well too. I tried H. 'Ingenuity'  for the first time and two of my
breeders
> did well too. I got about 30% of my crosses and some of these are
> promising. I expect that they are promising more than they will deliver,
> but that's always the case. Like this spring,...promises...promises.
glen
>
> PS Not a single fungus gnat to be found. :-)
>
>
>
>
> Glen Williams
> 20 Dewey St.
> Springfield , Vermont
> 05156
> Tel: 802-885-2839
>
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