Between seasons

This winter was dry. So dry, in fact, we had pretty much given up hope for snow when January came around. Then this happened.

It’s a shame, really, because the rosemary beast had flowered abundantly and there were some happy bees out there. It kept on happening, too.

All this was last week. There was some fear about the new trees, what with subzero temperatures during the night after two weeks of mildness but they seemed to be okay with the snow. Then the thaw began.

With the thaw came the mist, or should we say, The Mist.

That milky blanket below the houses? That’s The Mist. Inside The Mist was fairytale land.

Alas, the dashcam doesn’t do the landscape justice, so here’s a description. All the trees along the road were covered with a frost armour so thick they could take part in a horror or a fantasy movie without any additional treatment. It was breathtaking — and also distracting for the drivers among us. Luckily, there were no giant spiders in sight. And then The Mist dissipated, leaving the first signs of spring in its wake.

There is nothing like a clump of snowdrops to set you in a spring mood, not here at least.

One of these is a hyacinth. The other is either another — weird — hyacinth or something we’ve forgotten we’ve planted in that flowerbed.

Surprise of the season: the crazy fresias that always sprout in December, because we always forget to dig out the bulbs to prevent that, survived the subzero nights. They might even flower at the proper time this year. Plant evolution up close.

Winter is now withdrawing, night temps are forecast at 0 or above and we’ve put the first seeds into the seedling pots. We’re being more sensible with the tomatoes this year. Just five of each variety, of which we have six. Here’s to the start of another growing season and may be it be bountiful. After all, we learned a lot of valuable lessons last season.