Signs of spring

Got my first robin today - perched on top of my cherry tree for quite some time. Just one so far.

I have had Robins for weeks and thrushes and tons of other little birds. 2 hummers as well. I had probably 15 honey bees on a witch hazel. It was great. Love the bees. Oh and the frogs. Dave had to go and clean out a filter in a pond we built for someone and the filter was full of frogs. Gross and a little early.

Hey Pixy my fish are doing great. When do you start feeding yours. Mine are up swimming around. Not really looking for food but sun bathing.

I'm only getting the stray 'croak' here and there, no frog chorus yet. A couple thrush, no hummers, no bees.

I have a very small pond with goldfish (someone ate my koi in one sitting a few years back so I went with the cheaper variety this time around) and am feeding them just a tiny bit when it is warm out (about 50ish). They get initially excited, but don't really chow down like they do in the summer, so I'm sure it's too early.

Heidi, the rule of thumb I have heard is that you should start feeding when the water temp reaches 50 degrees. My fish are definitley more active also.

today, I heard frogs croaking for the first time. I have seen and heard robins all around. Spring is certainly coming around the corner.

Rob - me too! The Robins have been busy the past 10 days or so - I hear them early a.m. when i get to work. i love the froggers - it puts a big smile on my face.

It is unusually early for frogs in our neck of the woods, but I have had quite a bit of frog noise on the warmer days. Haven't heard/seen robins yet, but Mom says she has at least heard them, so that's a good sign. They usually first show up in the fields at the bottom of our hill, so we don't see them for the first couple of weeks that they are in our area (especially when you are commuting in the dark...but I could actually find my car without playing blind man's bluff in the morning for at least a week now, so it's getting better!)

I'll be so happy when I am not commuting dark-to-dark.

I have been out in the garden working 3 hours Tues. and today. Everything has little green growth on it. Everything is coming up. I have heard frogs and have robins and today I heard a goose flying overhead.

Pictures taken today. New 'White Marble' hellebore.

Another new one but forgot the name.

Willow, I am absolutley drooling over that hellebore! Gorgeous.

One of the hellebores I got from Heidi last year. It's beautiful. Thanks again to Heidi, Pixie, and Rachel.^_^

This is a new 'Pink Marble', but when I was planting it the whole main bloom fell off. SOB! But I stuck it in the ground, it might root.

Snowdrops with bleeding heart up 3", crocus up, hellebores up and blooming. I planted a few bunches of bulbs last fall and they are all coming up too.

And the always beautiful 'Ivory Prince'

All cleaned out and waiting for the shed. It won't get started until next Monday. When Dean got home from Hawaii, he was loaded down with emergancy calls from people with blown off roofs and blown over fences from the wind storm,

Waiting for spring.

Sitting by the pond.

Beautiful hellebores, Willow! I love the marbled leaves. That dark pink one is thriving, look at those buds! Those h. lividus are much more tender than the other types, though-you'll want to plan to mulch them a bit. I didn't last year and it died to the ground. The one I had did survive, but didn't bloom at all. (Just in case, I bought a replacement so now I've got two) This year, I lightly mulched mine and they're looking really good now-and it was colder here this year than last. A little early for them to bloom, but I'm very optimistic. :)

Lovely early spring pics Willow! That very first helebore was just to die for! The rest are very pretty, but just love the colors and textures of the first one. I find it really odd... most of mine are still just starting to poke up flower stalks, so are quite a bit behind yours, but my Ivory Prince is in his full glory, and yours is still tight buds. Must be the location...my IP is right next to the house, so probably stays a bit warmer than those out in the yard.

My hellebores are blooming, but something is unrooting my iris bulbs! Not damaging, just uprooting.

My Lingularia is also putting up leaves. At this time of the year it usually looks dead.

Rob, it may be squirrels. My SIL has that same problem with her squirrels.

Hi there, I have just planted a few things that have been uprooted as well. I don't use bone meal since the dogs think I buried a bone for them. I think it is Robins or Thrushes. They scratch where I have been looking for worms. I have watched them towee's get in there also. I have 1 squirrel and he is too busy eating my bird seed and teasing the dogs to go after the bulbs. I know voles like tulips and some of the crocus.

While on our way to the fabulous January seed swap event, we saw a large flock of swans in the daffodil fields in the south end of the Auburn valley. Have never seen them there before but I had thought I had seen them on Thursday as well. Sighting was confirmed by Rarejem and Lynnweidman yesterday.

I am sitting in bed enjoying a little quiet before hosting a big family Sunday lunch since my son is in town for a few days. AND I HEAR BIRDS CHIRPING!!! Surely a sign of spring?

Frogs here this past couple weeks. Birds - volume/intensity growing daily.
Dare we believe we have escaped Winter?

Katye, I am so crossing my fingers that we have indeed escaped the dreaded "W" word...that first cold spell was enough IMHO, but we always seem to have a surprise snap again in late Feb or early March, so I am crossing my fingers that this year is an exception. It would be so nice for the annuals to get off to a good start this year!

I saw my first toad in my greenhouse today... big kid, almost the size of a large egg with legs. He was very green and very warty...I just love having them in there to help with slug patrol!

Hi
I have been reading this Northwest gardening forum since finding it shortly after becoming a member. Loved the helleborus pitures. I just bought a new one today Pink frost to add to my lady group. I"m in Lake Stevens no robins or frogs but will now be watching. Loved the hat pictures at the seeds swap!

Hi springcolor and welcome to the PNW. Hope you stick around and join in. This is a nice and very friendly and helpful spot. Your Pink Frost sounds pretty. I also have the 'Lady Series'. Blue Metallic is my favorite of those.

I have Pink Lady, Red lady and Blue Lady. Did not know there was a Blue Metallic, sounds nice. I just picked them up at Top Foods last winter. I need to go around the north side of the house to see if they are blooming. They always start the spring with a bang.

The blues are probably the same. Will put up a picture when it blooms. I once spent a full day swimming in Lake Stevens, way back in the 50's when I was eighteen. It was certainly fun.

Willowwind 2
Did you swim at Williams Park? It use to be a big swim place with high dives. Another great place was lundeens, a dance place with live bands. My brother use to go there as he has a few years on me. I have lived here my whole life except for 4 years in CA. when my husband went to school.
Do any of you grow heuchera? Love them. Have been checking mine out and looks like I will divide this spring. They are starting to put up new leaves.
In reading Daves everyone sounds like they are sending cross country. What about inter state rules. I ordered heuchera from a place back east and because I was in WA. it had to be shipped without soil?

L0L, I have no idea where I was, except it was a park and had a long dock to walk out onto.
A lot of us grow Heuchera. I only have two, the old kind and a varigated one that I love. I have deer and they eat them.
Can't comment on shipping rules. I sent some hostas to Pakistan.

Had to post this tonight, as it put a song in my heart and assured me that spring is truely on it's way. We have been talking about bits of frog song, but walking back from Mom's tonight, I heard a full and true frog chorus coming from the valley. They are the little ones that we call "spring peepers", and they were singing in all of their glory. Hooray!!!!!