On Christmas Eve the budding naturalist and I went out looking for deer tracks in the mud of our land. Considering there is no snow to track them, it's mud that'll work (and does). We burned off some housebound pent-up toddler energy, then I selected a place to lie down in the sun. Our neighbor's dog had been barking at ours (we'd been tossing the ball for her) and so our neighbor came out with his dog, a puppy, to see us. I didn't hear him come, as I was lying down with my hat on my face.
"I thought you had fallen down. But instead, it looks like you found the only dry spot to lie down on," he said. "And what's she doing?" he asked, meaning the budding naturalist.
"She's picking me a dandelion bouquet," I said, indicating the large pile she'd amassed on my stomach.
It appears our little slice of earth has moved from a zone 6 to a zone 6-7. Christmas Eve, and we're out picking flowers. Are there still people out there who doubt the world is getting warmer?
7 comments:
Eeeek! Beautiful, yet so bizarre. We don't have dandelions up in MN (yet) but definitely green grass. Getting worried for our snow/maple syrup/skating winter culture...
time to plant potatoes when the dandelions are blooming. I am having them ship my potatoes early this year just for the reason you have been blogging about---weather change. I think if I wait until April like I am suppose to---they will die in the heat before they get big enough.
I saw some Johnny Jump-ups in bloom on Christmas day. Like Gina, I'm concerned for our maple syrup culture, and the snow tourist trade in northern Maine. And perhaps we should take a moment to bid farewell to the white birch. Ugh.
Can anyone say "tipping point"?
I walked the dogs yesterday along the river in Marietta and there were forsythia bushes with multiple blooms on them. Uh-oh.
Do you really usually get 68" of snow in January, or was that a typo? (Referring to your comment on my blog.)
I have seen Johnny-jump-ups bloom in December before. I have seen mild Decembers followed by frigid Januaries. The lack of snow and cold is still unnerving.
Nope, Kathy, it's not a typo. We average 18-24" of snow in Dec and 68" in Jan so that there is NO snow is really very strange indeed.
Then you must enjoy a climate similar to Ellen Hornig of Seneca Hill Perennials. She runs a mail order nursery near Lake Ontario. They get so much snow that she grows perennials from South Africa, a couple of zones warmer than her official zone. You seem to primarily grow vegetables, but if you are interested in ornamental gardening you should visit her website. Unfortunately it seems to be in the middle of a redesign, but when it is back you should see a very atypical selection of plants.
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