Soggy Srping Beauties

     Winter can be depressing, especially if it's cloudy and days are dark, like they have been recently, and it rains a lot. Ironically, it can be equally depressing if it's not rainy this time of year. Our whole environment here is based on a rainy winters and when the sky is zipped up, it can be scary. Last winter was especially so.
     Of course, it's nice to have sunny, dry days to get out and garden, hike, bike, or just be outdoosr as bonus days in winter. But it's also nice to have enough water that native grasses, plants and trees aren't stressed, ratcheting up fire danger. Wells dry up and rivers shrink, affecting fish, wildlife,  farmers, ranchers, recreation and the economies built around them.
     So, I swore I'd never complain about the rain again - and so far I haven't. Even when our wet-

Wet-weather stream

weather stream flowed over our driveway. We can handle that. The trees the stream flowed through - and even flooded - got a boost to root strength. I hope they're banking moisture for the upcoming dry period.  (OK, the weeds developed better roots too, but we can probably handle them if we get after them at the right time.)


Gifts of Color
     Mother Nature gives us sure signs of spring, no matter where we live. I've seen two already: turtles in the pond at the end of the road (a very full pond, I might add!), and the first wildflowers.  I'm often surprised at how early both arrive. The parade of colorful blooms always starts with what my former neighbor called Spring Beauties. And they are just that. They're tiny, seemingly delicate little purple flowers. In reality, they're pretty doggone hardy because they're stepped on by humans and wildlife. Once you notice the first one, you'll see lots and lots of others that either just magically appeared in that very moment - or went unnoticed. For how long? How could I not notice them?
     Am also seeing signs of flag iris that will appear in another month or so. The bulbs are pushing erect leaves and stems up through the muddy soil, mainly on the south sides of hills. The blossoms will eventually arch with their own weight and bloom in such beautiful purple and blue hues that it will be impossible to resist picking gazillions of bouquets of them.
    People in town are already enjoying spring bulb colors. We're just high enough in the hills that such displays are delayed by weeks. That's just fine; it extends the season since we're in town regularly so enjoy them there first. Besides, there aren't as many wildflowers in town and we'll have a veritable symphony of color (iris, columbines, tiger lilies, Shasta daisies and much more) once they get started.

 Mosses and Lichens

Winds this winter flung lots of mosses and lichens to the ground and I've always found them fascinating. Robin Wall Kemmerer, a professor from the east coast, wrote a beautiful book of essays called Gathering Moss: a natural history of mosses (Oregon State University Press; 2003). I highly recommend it.

  

Our old fruit trees are in their "golden years" and we fear each is their last. But they're hardy! Some branches succumb each year, but even in death there is beauty as lichens and mosses take hold. Birds seem to love them too when they stop by the suet baskets - whether for bugs or nest material, or just to revel in their sensuous "fluff" - who knows?