The Taunting of Spring

[pyjamapants]

I spend far too much time grumbling about the allergy-inflicted ick that normally accompanies spring, what with its drastic weather changes and copious amounts of pollen.

Instead, today I shall sing its praises.

1. The cover keeps blowing off our grill. I think it's trying to taunt me with its shininess. Damn it. Now I'm dying for some grilled corn on the cob, my absolute favoritest food in the world.

2. I planted seed flats this week! Three varieties of tomatoes (Sugar Snack, Roma, and Bushsteak) at 8 plants apiece, 8 broad-leaf basils, 8 eggplants, 8 variety peppers (Hungarian Wax, cayenne, etc.), 8 Sweet bell peppers, 8 cumin, 16 lavender, and 16 creeping thyme. I'm not done with the seeds either! I've still got container mint and lettuce to start. And let's not forget all the seeds that will be directly sown: burpless cucumbers, zucchini, squash, okra. Woooooot! I'll post picspam in a week or two when the seedlings emerge.

3. I've been running again! Granted the ear ache has kept me waylaid a bit, though I desperately need to start hitting the pavement on a regular basis; I've got a half marathon in a month and a half!

4. Buds are out on the trees! Three pitiful little crocuses have popped up in the front flower bed. The bunny has returned to the back yard. The lily bulbs are poking their noses out.

5. I desperately hope our lilac bush recovers this year. It was shorn in half by a drunk driver last year (yes, a drunk driver) who hit the side of our corner lot, drove up the seven foot embankment, clipped our 40 foot locust tree with the mirror, and drove down the other side of the embankment, narrowly missing our neighbor's car. Sometimes it's quite entertaining to live in the 'hood.

What about you ladies and gents? Has spring sprung where you live?

Comments

[kribu.livejournal.com]

Grilled corn sounds quite intriguing. And tasty. Sadly we don't really have much anything to do with corn here (doesn't grow this far up in the north).

It certainly sounds like spring there! Here... not so much, yet. Although the birds have started singing more insistently, and the days are nearly consistently around +1...+3°C now - but with the nights still down to -10°C, it feels fairly wintry still. But then, we don't really get "real" spring until late April/May.

[pyjamapants.livejournal.com]

We'll probably have another snowfall still. Spring is still in the 'taunting' stage. We had a heat wave early in the week, but today it's a bit chilly and breezy again: 7°C now and -4°C tonight. *sigh*.

My seeds are in their little greenhouse against the window, eagerly awaiting the return of warmer weather.

[lulabelle72.livejournal.com]

Trust me, your lilac will be fine. :)

I adore creeping thyme! ADORE IT! It's my all-time favorite herb, and I love the creeping version, as it fills in so nicely and looks just lovely.

Sugar Snack tomato? Very interesting! Will be waiting 70+ days for your review.

[pyjamapants.livejournal.com]

Ah, dear Lula. You're the perfect person to ask this question: does creeping thyme hold up to dog traffic?

The Sugar Snack tomatoes are super yummy. I grew them last year. There's these divine little cherry tomatoes. Mmmmmmm.

[lulabelle72.livejournal.com]

Oh. Cherry tomatoes. For some reason, they are not welcome in our house. LOL! Dunno why.

Yes, creeping thyme holds up well to dog traffic, actually. And yours. I mean, don't plant it in the middle of a path, LOL, but yes, it stands up to a lot. In fact, if you use it for cooking, like I do, the constant snip snip snipping will even do more for it.

The best part? Every time you or a dog steps on it, it releases that heavenly thyme scent.

[kelly-h80.livejournal.com]

No, I shall not see Spring until the end of April. Besides, its still winter, and the snow outside won't let me believe otherwise. :(

Woo a barb-b-que in the winter sounds like a fantastic idea, although I never tried grilled corn before. Wouldn't that take the juicyness out of it?

[pyjamapants.livejournal.com]

Oh, no. You soak the corn in water and the grill it in the husk.

*whimpers*

Is soooo good.

[mollyssister.livejournal.com]

Spring has NOT sprung. Its 20 degrees at the moment. I have started my flats of annuals by seed. I am thrilled to have a gardening friend.

I wanted to return the favor of a good rec. HG/LM with SS as a friend
http://asylums.insanejournal.com/wizard_love/42882.html#cutid1

[pyjamapants.livejournal.com]

I loooooove gardening, but my plans are always far greater than I can manage to pull off. Hopefully this year I'll succeed.

Thanks for the fic rec! I'll check it out!

[kittylefish.livejournal.com]

hmm. now that you are getting your first taste of spring, we are finally getting what passes for winter in this town. that is, the temperature has not reached 60 degrees for several days in a row! you should hear everybody complain about how cold it is.

i envy you your vegetable garden. i'm not allowed to have plants in my apartment anymore - i don't take care of them well enough. :(

[pyjamapants.livejournal.com]

Oh, the taste of spring was fleeting. It's back below freezing here.

I'm slowly getting the hang of gardening. I made it further last year than I had in previous years – I often give up when it gets too hot to go outside. This feels like a banner year, though. :)

[dynonugget.livejournal.com]

I hope your ear feels better!

You can have my lilac bush if you want. It's horridly overgrown and out of control. I have a completely brown thumb so I just leave it alone so I don't kill it. Smells wonderful, but it's too close to the back porch for my liking.

[pyjamapants.livejournal.com]

Ah, ours sits on the very corner of our property, far away from where it might offend any porches.

My ear is mostly better. *sigh* Still a bit spinny if I switch from vertical to horizontal too fast. We'll see if new allergy meds help...*grumble*

OT: The SSHG Quiz

[morethansirius.livejournal.com]

Today on the quiz_sshg, Hermione has had a bit too much to drink. She gets into all sorts of interesting situations when she gets a tad tipsy. You should know as you will recognize quote #4 from your story The Witches of Gilford! Thank you for showing us another side of Hermione. Here is a featured Author banner of your very own.

http://pics.livejournal.com/morethansirius/pic/000a4s2s/g48

Come play the SSHG Quiz!

Re: OT: The SSHG Quiz

[pyjamapants.livejournal.com]

OMG! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!