sheddy or not, here I come!

Spring is still struggling to be reborn. I see reports of winter storms in the east, and it's been cold and rainy here. I'm done with winter -- didn't I make that clear a couple of weeks ago? Geez. Of all the nerve.

So I did what most Oregonians do, ignore the rain and go out and do yardwork regardless of being soaked and muddy. I cleaned out our garden shed, brought out our lawn furniture (what little there is of it), cleaned up the bulb beds, and de-mossed and fertilized the lawn (what little there is of it). The shed is nicer than one might expect. It is large enough to store everything, plus it has shelving, electricity, lights and windows that open, and not a single leak. The lawn is going to take some work. It's about half weeds, and the soil is hard clay. The previous owners dealt with it by just letting it die in the summer.

Our hellebore and one of the camellias are in full bloom, and the daffodils are poking their little heads out of the greenery. My neighbor has a large crocus bed that looks spectacular, all purples and whites. I'll be so glad to get some color (other than green and grey) around here.

I'm really eager to jump right in with landscaping projects, but common sense and a lack of coins in pocket tell me that I should wait and watch how the yard changes with the seasons. We moved in on November 1, and the real estate team solved the yard problems by chopping back everything in the back yard and raking up the debris, so I don't really have a sense of how the smaller plants grow and what the summer sun is like.

Mr. Reluctant spent a chunk of the day cleaning the spring tree mess from the gutters. We had one downspout fully blocked, and gallons of water stored up in one corner, yikes. Although I love my trees, I'm not a big fan that we have not one but TWO deciduous trees (the Siberian elm and European white birch) that drop catakins as well as leaves. The little bits of confetti that constantly float down are good as fertilizer, I suppose, but it means there is a year-round mess in the driveway and yard.