The thaw progresses quickly. Temperatures into the 40s today as the snow recedes before our very eyes.

The garden critters are not meeting in Council today. They are just cruising around with the Referee, checking things out. Well, they themselves aren’t cruising around. Not the statues. Thats crazy. Their little spirits are cruising around with him. Who knows how it happens? Must be a wireless device thing. It is an iphone world nowadays, after all.

Stone Bunny says “I see a little green poky coming out of the ground.”

Stone Bunny loves the first little signs of spring.

Gnome, always looking for the day’s little curiosity, notes that the sledding hills look great today. No good for sledding but you can really see them as the snow melts around them.

Iron Turtle is worried about the mustard garlic which appears to be surviving the winter this year. The Referee thought he had the darn stuff whipped but a bunch came back late last year and now its holding through the cold. “”Strange” cautions Turtle. “Very strange. We could be facing a major invasion this spring.” Turtle is a worrier but he has a habit of being right.

Stone Puppy is more interested in what’s going on around the house.
“Boy oh Boy! Check out how squashed down the lavender is after all that snow. It will pop back up but we’ve got to watch out. That French lavender is growing out over the English lavender. French lavender looks like it survived the big snow nicely. English lavender looks rougher but it usually does at this time of year, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does.” confirms Gnome. “And you are spot on, Puppy. We’ve got two kinds of lavender and one is crowding out the other. Good eye, Puppy,”

Frog thinks of it as a study in white and green with a dash of red and yellow. Frog loves a good color contrast.

Clay Pig is excited about the little wisps of yarrow.

Everyone agrees we’ll need to watch the vinca again this year. Vinca is one of the most notorious aggressors in this garden. It sure does look great today, though, holding a deep shade of green through the winter.

Mary is particularly pleased with how great the rhododendron bush looks today. It put out buds very early this year and is holding them nicely. Waiting and biding time.