Awakening

In spite of the rather chilly temperatures and grey skies here in our corner of New England, spring is still pushing forward. Color is slowing beginning to appear in small amounts around the yard.  The daffodil bulbs that I planted last fall have pushed through the soil, and their buds are swollen and ready to burst; shoots of green are popping up all over the flower gardens, and the forsythia blossoms are adding cheerful splashes of yellow to the predominately grey landscape.  The goldfinches that are flocking to my feeders have turned from dull brown to sunny yellow, and the purple finches add a perky hint of red (I've always wondered why they are called purple finches when they aren't purple at all).

The snow is almost completely gone with only a few small patches remaining in the woods where the sun rarely shines. My vegetable garden is drying out, and I can finally walk on it without sinking above my ankles. This past weekend I removed the pine boughs I had covering my garlic bulbs and found three rows of little green shoots.  I was relieved to find they had survived the harshly cold winter and am looking forward to our first harvest of garlic scapes and the new recipes I'm going to try.  This pesto looks delicious.

It's so exciting to see the earth awakening with new life after the long winter, knowing that in another month everything will be bathed in lush green; the garden will be in the midst of planting, and the flower gardens will be exploding with color.

Many thanks to my daughter for the lovely photos.