Beginning the clean up

PM Showers High 48° F Precip: 30% A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers this afternoon. High 48F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Rain / Snow Low 32° F Precip: 80% Light rain...mixing with snow overnight. Some sleet may mix in. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.

Yesterday we had great weather, and I won my race for the early express train out of Boston. I got home at 5:30 (a rarity!) and was able to begin the spring clean up!

I began raking the side of the house where I remembered seeing daffodils last year. Sure enough, under all the leaves were a bunch of flowers coming up. They are about 5 inches high, like the ones in the sheltered area of the yard, and there are also some iris coming up as well. Because we had construction on that side of the house last summer I think we lost a few bulbs, but the ones that survived look hardy. The daffodils are just outside the French doors of our kitchen, so when they bloom we should be able to see them while we have our coffee in the morning.

Then I moved on to the areas lining the driveway. Unfortunately, the previous owners threw a large collection of florescent light tubes in the foliage on the right side. We though we found them all last year, but while raking I came across more. Grrrr. We are planning on renting another dumpster for the remains of our construction, but we need to take the light tubes to the hazardous waste dump as there is mercury in them. Which is why I get so angry at the last owners! But moving on...underneath all the leaves and broken glass I found that the periwinkle was sending off fresh runners and looked healthy. A bit sparse, but I think that there will be some lily of the valley coming up to fill in the gaps. On the back side of the driveway, up on a circular rocked in area, the Russian olive that we chopped down last year was making a comeback. We will have to dig out the stump soon so that it doesn't overtake the area again.

Jon came home and helped clean up the hosta beds along the fences. Some of the leaves were still encased in ice as that area is in shadow most of the day. I dethatched some of the grass, but will have to go out and do more soon. The front arbor over the walkway rusted out, and I think we are going to take it down. There is a beautiful climbing flower that grew on it last year, but I am planning on moving it to the lamppost so it has some support.

There were lots of sticks and branches down (or caught in other branches) and we began gathering these for our kindling box. Even though it's getting warmer, the nights are cold and a good fire is always cheery. While Jon marked out the trench to bury the electrical cable from the house to the garage, I turned the compost heap for the first time since last November. It was heavy! But, once I got a foot down, there was wonderful black material that will be great for giving the garden a nice, fertile foundation.