Spring Has Sprung!

Spring finally sprung on Brush Prairie this week!! All of a sudden it was 70 degrees, the rhododendrons had little buds, and the trees lost their wintry look to green leaves, and lushness all around! I was even able to wear a dress (with a sweater, of course) to mark the occasion! This weekend we're back to gray skies and 63 degree days, but that hasn't stopped us from preparing for our gardens outside......

The dirt backyard is getting some love (in the way of a cutting garden and a pumpkin patch) before it gets some grass seed...JSM is hard at work!

St. Francis takes his rightful spot!

JSM finally cut the grass for the first time this year! The yard was initially sodded, but since this isn't a great climate for sod, it didn't do so well. By December our yard was dead. JSM has done a miraculous job of bringing it back to life. Why did I ever doubt his abilities? 

The final product!

Seed starters set up in a makeshift "greenhouse" on the window seat...I'm excited for Butter Head Lettuce and JSM can't wait for the Golden Wax Beans!

Rhododendrons about to burst in the front yard.....JSM calls me everyday from work to ask, "have the rhodies bloomed?" All I can say is any day now, any day now.

Another bush in the front yard about to bloom....I predict we'll have this beautiful red bush, a purple rhododendron, and a white rhododendron before it's all done!

The arborvitae "fence" was finally planted! 

Hooray for a little privacy and more green!

JSM and I took a Beekeeping 101 class last weekend and at the end of the day we were ready to take home a nuc of bees and set up house in the backyard! Sadly, another student bought the last nuc of bees available at the shop and since it's late in the season we may not get our bees. We are on a waiting list at Ruhl Bee Supply in Gladstone, OR, but there are no guarantees we'll get what we need before June 1st., the last day to set up bees for the summer. I hope we get the call to come pick up our bees, but if we don't we'll be preparing for next April! Bees will make a wonderful addition to our vegetable garden, flower beds, and of course, we'll get lots of honey - one hive can produce  up to 5 lbs! Maybe in the meantime, a swarm of bees will fly over and get those rhododendrons blooming!