Spring Is ...

Before I begin, let me clarify a few things about what I posted yesterday. No, we will not be collecting unemployment benefits next week, but this is not ADP’s choice. It has nothing to do with ADP not caring about “there” employees, or even Lennox at all.  They had absolutely no say so in the matter. 

It is state law that when filing for unemployment, you must be off work five days in a row before those benefits begin.  It wouldn’t matter where you work. If you get laid off, you won’t get paid for those first five days.  I think that's part of why The Big Man Up Front chose to shut down for a whole week instead of going to 4 day weeks -- so that if we have to do another shut down later in the year, we will have met the waiting period required by law.  He's hoping it won't come to that, but as he said yesterday, he doesn't have a crystal ball.  He can't see into the future. 

And now, for our regularly scheduled blog post...

As my old Dad would say, spring is busting out all over.  And yet, many of my friends who live up North are still buried in snow, so I decided to give you a little taste of my Spring weather.  

First thing I want to show you is that I got out and scattered my little ice stars with the bluebonnet seeds in them.  

But then, I got to thinking, what if those weeds choke out the little seedlings and they don't even have a chance to grow?  Naturally, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I got the old weed whacker out and whacked them.

Then I got my second ice tray out and scattered those seeds in the same place.

  

This spot drains much better than where I'd been planting them before, so keep your fingers crossed that something will grow here, and maybe, just maybe, I'll get a bed established. 

While I had the weed whacker out, I started cutting this stuff down, which I thought was just tall grass. 

However, as I was cutting, I said to myself, "Self, that smells like wild onions."  I stopped whacking and dug a few up, and yep, they look like teeny tiny wild onions as well.  

"Hmmm," says I.  "Might ought to let those grow.  If things get any worse, you might need to eat them."  Of course, I'm not going to be eating anything until I'm absolutely sure of it's identity, but I'm pretty sure these are onions. 

What with the warming weather, Marty Mac is coming out of his winter dormancy.  I've been putting him outside for a bit every day, gradually increasing his exposure to the sun, so his leaves don't get sun burned. 

He's looking really good.  Sometime next week, I'll get his stand out and onto the front porch.  It's warm enough to leave him out all the time now days, so I'll only bring him inside if there is a late freeze expected.  They say they can handle a light freeze, but I don't want to take any chances. 

You know who else has been enjoying the sun?  This thing.

Her bum leg is pretty much healed, so I've been letting her go outside again.  She hasn't really wandered too far out of the back yard, but she did bring me a vole the other day.  A live vole.  In my house.  Which I had to carry back outside and toss over the back fence.  It was pretty chewed up, so I doubt it survived, but still...

The rest of this post is just a few of the flowers growing wild in my yard, and my next door neighbor's tree.  I'm not sure what kind it is.  There are a few around here that make those white flowers like that.  It could be any one of them. 

OK, then, I hope you enjoyed this little stroll around my yard.  We'll have to do it again sometime.