Record high today, 70 degrees in Poughkeepsie, although I recorded 72 here.
It was a wonderful day to work in the yard. I caught up with some clean-up I had missed during those hectic autumn months when life seemed out of control.
But this winter is strange. It is too warm. The plants seem to think it is April or May. I am not complaining that the pansies and snapdragons keep coming back into bloom, both were filled with new buds today, if the weather doesn’t get too cold I will have flowers again next week. The blossoms are a treat in January.
But other things worry me. The irises are sending out new growth. The tulips and daffodils are peeking above the soil line. The hyacinths are even further along:
The poppies are getting huge. The asters and sedum are sending up new growth as well:
What will this mean? Tulip season is in May here not
February (like in Houston). Will all 360 tulips I planted in a fit of
greed and tulip-lust in October be for naught? Will they bloom in
February while I am away in Arizona and southern California? That can’t
be possible. Will the snow and ice finally come and slaughter all the
young plants before they have even had a chance to grow? The weather people tell me the strange weather is caused by el nino and we are in for several more months of this strangeness so all might be well. We might have a bilzzard in May. They might be wrong and we might have mass tulip infanticide next week.
I suppose there is nothing to do but enjoy it and hope for the best. I can certainly enjoy the mild weather. If this keeps up, think of all the work I can get done in the yard. Perhaps then, when the dog days of summer finally hit, I won’t feel guilty about not slaving away in the heat. Instead I will sit on the new deck by the pool and lounge, margarita in hand.