Spring IS Coming

Well, the snow is mostly melted, and we're back to the Oregon winter staple:  what is known in these parts as "Oregon pissy rain."  Going outside and not getting drenched is not an option...these are not raindrops you can dodge.  It's just an overall soaking dampness...more like giant fog.

Even so, I was out walking the dog in the back yard today, and I had to start searching for signs of spring.  And I found them.  I have bulbs in the garden beds showing their first signs of life...little green spikes popping up among what's left of the soggy perennials that were squashed by the snow.  Daffodils, crocus, Japanese Iris...  And darned if the filberts aren't blooming.  I can tell, because everyone I know is sneezing.  In a couple of weeks we'll begin to see the early purple plums beginning to flower. 

Summer and winter in the Willamette/Columbia Valleys in Oregon aren't much to write home about...spring and fall are the real stars.  "Spring" starts in late January and runs through June...autumn rolls out from September til almost Christmas.  Here it is, mid-January, and I'm already itching to get outside and dig in the dirt.  I'm a little afraid that the rotten winter weather might have killed off some of my plants...but then, that wouldn't be much of a problem.  To me, dead plants are more of an opportunity than a disaster.  I just pull them out, and make more room for something new and different and exciting.  The last three nights, I've been poring over a book on shrubs as my "read myself to sleep" book.  I'm researching different candidates for a shrub screen around the yard.  I want flowers, I want birds, and I want privacy.  And I wish I had a few thousand extra dollars lying around!

I am now officially on crocus watch.  They will be the first to bloom.  Or will it be the Japanese Irises?  Can hardly wait to see...