This morning, an e-mail from the Department of Natural Resources greeted me as I had my morning cup of tea.
Originally, Gary and I planned on guarding on April 15, the first available date, we thought. Then we were moved up to April 8 because of the warm weather. But the water temperature on the Wolf River kept climbing and now, the DNR wants us to guard the night of March 25, which is three weeks earlier than we had planned. Since we look at this night as our first camping of the season, it is wonderful to start so soon. We returned from our last campground on October 15 so that's only a little over five months since we last sat before water to watch the sun set.
The warm weather has hurt some of the garden. The snow drops are over and the crocuses and dwarf irises are wilting. The daffodils will be in their full glory by tomorrow, again almost a month early. Scilla and putchkina have made their appearance, two weeks early. Neither is doing well in 80 degree F. heat.
I have been busy clearing the gardens. I needed the wheelbarrow to move lawn trash. Gary had placed it over a stack of firewood to keep it protected from the winter snow. It was protecting something else. When I lifted the wheelbarrow, there was a gray blur of something diving into the logs. Then it popped out again. It was a gray field mouse, one of the fattest I've seen. I suspect he's been helping himself to the seeds that fall from the bird feeders. He just sat there, inches away, looking up at me. I promised him I would return the wheelbarrow when I was finished. He seemed to think that was fine and slipped back between the logs to await future developments.
Originally, Gary and I planned on guarding on April 15, the first available date, we thought. Then we were moved up to April 8 because of the warm weather. But the water temperature on the Wolf River kept climbing and now, the DNR wants us to guard the night of March 25, which is three weeks earlier than we had planned. Since we look at this night as our first camping of the season, it is wonderful to start so soon. We returned from our last campground on October 15 so that's only a little over five months since we last sat before water to watch the sun set.
The warm weather has hurt some of the garden. The snow drops are over and the crocuses and dwarf irises are wilting. The daffodils will be in their full glory by tomorrow, again almost a month early. Scilla and putchkina have made their appearance, two weeks early. Neither is doing well in 80 degree F. heat.
I have been busy clearing the gardens. I needed the wheelbarrow to move lawn trash. Gary had placed it over a stack of firewood to keep it protected from the winter snow. It was protecting something else. When I lifted the wheelbarrow, there was a gray blur of something diving into the logs. Then it popped out again. It was a gray field mouse, one of the fattest I've seen. I suspect he's been helping himself to the seeds that fall from the bird feeders. He just sat there, inches away, looking up at me. I promised him I would return the wheelbarrow when I was finished. He seemed to think that was fine and slipped back between the logs to await future developments.
Here I thought Gary was already doing some camping/relaxing very close to home ;)
ReplyDeleteLovely weather. Doesn't it make you wonder what could be next?
Susan