The sun’s almost set but the howling wind and bursts of heavy rain aren’t slowing down. It’s pretty wild out there, with ankle-deep marshy wet patches hidden in the grass. Stepped out for a last look around, and the tree at the end of the field caught my eye as it usually does. It stands alone in the middle of a large pasture at the point where the main veggie beds end. It seems quite independent, holding back on the leaves when the other trees are already green, exactly the same shape year round, with leaves or without. Lots of big trees, sheltered in the surrounding forest, were snapped like twigs in the big wind and ice storms of the last four-five years, but this guy remains unbothered. I’m glad because it’s a central part of the tiny farming scenery here these last many years. Would be sad to see it snapped!
trees
See through the trees
Say what you want about the harshness of the winter season, at least you can see through the trees! It changes things up. In summer, a dense deep green privacy wall across the little meadow that could be called a lawn. When the leaves are gone, you can look past to the hillside across the hidden pond. This slice of the view is dense with fallen branches snapped by wind and ice storms. There are also window-like gaps where in summer you can see cows grazing on the hill.
Buds on the trees
The birds and the bees and the buds on the trees… Gazing around the grey outdoors on this drizzly day. I know little about the ways of trees, so I’m not sure whether the buds are early, or late, or just when they’re supposed to be. What I do know is…there they are!
Looking for leaves
The snow’s gone, replaced by puddles and mud. You can still see the road through the trees—the only aerial green so far is evergreen. An overall browned-out scene, but what’s not in the pic is the vigorous twittering of birds, the tantalizing hint of real warmth in the still chilly air, the slightly musty dampness of winter earth waking up, as the outdoors steadily gets ready to…explode!
Today’s weather
Spring, soon! So far, though, still chilly and winterish. The photo describes it perfectly: not much snow, but cold enough for the thin layer to stick around (-10°C/14°F at night). And no signs of fresh new green growth just yet… It’s good to know, because it’s happened before, that it could suddenly turn into a startlingly warm T-shirt-optional March. Weather!
After the rain, again
Outdoors: waiting! Today was a cold, dark, wet, oppressively gray day, and then, at the last minute, the sky cleared for a beautiful coppery-golden sunset. I headed outside to check out the light, and for the first time this season, caught that delicious summertime sun-comes-out-after-the-rain feeling. It’s especially sweet when you’re growing stuff because it means: A) it’s sunny again, and B) you got rain! Simple pleasures. What could be finer (with the Weather)? In the photo, the end of the moldboarded section of the south field—it’s all gently thawing out…
A favorite tree…
It’s not hard to like the aged, half-dead black locust tree right in front of the farmhouse, ’cause it always looks good. It’s gnarled and sinister, kinda hypnotic, particularly on flat, grey days (I wonder if the creepy feel is a cultural thing, or if it looks that way to everyone). With the new farm move only a few days away now, a couple of weeks at most, I’m making a bit of a last-minute effort to round out the old farm snapshot collection…