The daffodils on the edge of the woods just started to open this morning. Looks like there’s a little spider in there.
Lord knows how long these daffodils have been here. They were here when we moved in. We have at least 4 different clumps here and there on the property. This particular plant has always been on its own, a splash of yellow against the trees. But last year, a little patch appeared about a foot from the original. And this year, another little clump has appeared. I love that.
The same thing has happened with the daffs in the big garden bed. They bloom later than the flowers in the photos, as they’re a different kind of narcissus. Last year, a single daff popped up about 8 or 9 feet from the main plant – right in the middle of the gravel in front of the porch. I was completely surprised by its appearance and very happy I didn’t pull it thinking it was a weed. This year, there are two more about 3 or 4 inches away.
One of the magical things about gardening is the self-seeding and/or spreading of flowers. I didn’t plant these daffodils, so I can take no credit. But watching plants multiply and pop up in other areas of the garden is a joy.
We had our monthly “french fries for lunch at Five Guys” date yesterday. We figured we would combine it with a visit to B&N to see if the new Country Living was available. It wasn’t there yet, which was disappointing, but the french fries made me smile.
Today, we’re going to clean the inside of the shed as it’s sort of a mess after all the leaking that occurred. We’re going to scrub it down and rearrange what we have in there, as we had to place items in certain areas to avoid water damage. Now, that’s no longer an issue, thank goodness.
Eventually, we’ll go to our storage space and start to sort through everything there. Hopefully, we can dump most of it and the items we want to save can come back to the shed and we’ll save the $125/month fee. They increase the cost every 6 months and we really can no longer afford it. Worst case scenario, we clear out as much as we can and then rent a much smaller unit for less money.
I finished The Man With The Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam and now I’m into the last book in the trilogy, Last Friends.
It’s supposed to rather warm today – unseasonably warm – with a high of 76.
We’ll take it.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Be careful of your back as you embark on the storage unit/storage shed clean-out! I’m not cleaning out my fabric stash, but will undergo a massive reorganization of it, especially the fabrics that are folded and then neatly strewn about. I cleaned out my fabric stash a few years ago and sent two massive boxes to an organization that provides sewing materials to Native Peoples in the Southwest for their quilting.
Enjoy the daffodils, Claudia. Mine came out and went at least two months ago. They even beat out the crocuses. Northern California climate has always been a bit of this and that whenever the time of year, but having lived here all my life, I can say that climate change has steadily eroded what seasonality we used to have. At least this year, the daffodils had a fighting chance and lasted a long time. Sometimes they come out cheerily, only to be beaten down by rain. BTW, what is rain???
My back was sore after working in the shed, but it’s much better this morning.
I know that climate change has affected San Diego as well. It’s much hotter there with more humidity.
Stay safe, Wendy.
Sounds like you have a full day planned. Good luck with the sorting process…it’s never an easy one.
Surprise daffodils are the best….you just never know sometimes where they are going to pop up. Enjoy 76 degrees! ;)
I love those surprises, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
I have a red tulip that has popped up for 45 years by my front steps. We’ve redone plantings there several times, and yet there it is every year. It makes me smile every time I go out the front door.
We have a yellow tulip that was here long before we moved in and this single tulip blooms right by the porch. I love it.
Stay safe!
The daffodils are lovely. They are a sure sign of Spring. I wish I had more storage in my little home but than I guess the truth is I need to have fewer things. So hard to downsize. Hugs!
It is extremely hard to downsize!
Stay safe, Linda.
Yes, I know what you mean about rental of an offsite storage space because I’m paying $212/month and, as it adds up, I probably will have paid more for storage than what the stuff inside is actually worth. I know the sense in all this, to get to it soonest and drop that monthly expense, but it’s so much of our house stuff, and the home improvements go painfully slow (til I can get the stuff back inside at my own location). It’s taking so much to live that fringe expenses like this just have to go when trying to manage a monthly budget in the fixed-income years. I could do a lot with that $212.
Your yellow daffodils are so lovely; I noticed yesterday that I have dark-purple glads coming up now. Enjoy your rainless warm weather today!
(Wish us luck; our fourth-shot/Covid booster is tomorrow; my husband historically gets a bad, bad reaction to the Covid vaccines whereas I never do, assumedly because I don’t have a vigorous immune system [I’m glad my husband decided to not wait any longer; I don’t want to wind up like my weak and fatigued cousin who’s trying to overcome Covid virus in one of the worst weeks so far of his life, or so he tells me during horrible fits of coughing {and this guy has even had a heart attack and wears a pacemaker!}; I did query my cousin as to how he thought he picked up the virus despite being vaccinated and he said he figures it’s when he got sloppy and started going out to restaurants and bars because of taking off the mask in a congregate setting with actually LOTS of people, indoors, for drinking and eating, although he’s otherwise really not too sure, except for the fact the he is very social, loves to entertain, has had people over and then goes to other people’s houses, too {people who I know to be unvaccinated and I doubt he’s worn his mask around them, so you get what you get}].)
Yes, your cousin hasn’t been all that careful! I think people are lulled into thinking they’re protected because they’re vaccinated. And they are, in terms of hospitalization and death, but they can still get sick.
I don’t know if reactions are based on our immune system. I had a great immune system when I was a kid, but I’d always get a reaction to certain vaccines.
Good luck!
Stay safe.
Love the cheerfulness of daffodils each Spring! Seeing “new” clumps appear here & there each year is truly a joy.
3 cheers for a new roof on the shed and no more leaks!
Enjoy the sunshine, warmth & dry day today.
Sorting, discarding, downsizing can be difficult and yet so rewarding.
Stay safe & well!
In this case, clearing out the shed two years ago and then finally getting the new roof has made it possible to use the space in a productive way again. We’re very pleased!
Thanks, Amy.
Stay safe.
I hope you can get your stuff moved to the shed sooner rather than later — that’s a lot of month; maybe reasonable for storage but still, a chunk of change. How wonderful to feel good about that space again!
Love your daffs and agree completely about how plants spread. This year I have something completely new. I’m not sure where it came from — it’s called Squill — but it’s lovely and was the very first thing to bloom. My sunflowers did the same.
Have a wonderful day. It’s pouring here today but yesterday was in the 70s and I was in heaven!
Squill is lovely, what a wonderful surprise!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
so happy for you to have signs of spring popping up in the usual and surprising places. :)
best wishes for the clean-out jobs to be quick, easy and pain-free!
stormy here last night with a beautiful show of lightning, because it reached 75 degrees yesterday. things are growing and turning green here, too and that’s good. and appreciated.
counting down the work days left … this is number 17. :) lots going on but i am trying to clean and deliver some donations before may 06. i know there will be lots of time to do such things in the future, but i want to take time to relax especially at the beginning of my retirement (easier for me to do when things are clean and organized … and right now there’s some stuff to take care of … ha not ha). i am a big believer in the adage, “begin as you mean to go on”. :)
lunch break is almost over. hope you all are having a nice day. stay safe!
kathy
17 days!! I remember my countdown. I retired on April 29, so, the date must be similar to yours!! I am so happy for you.
thanks very much, chris. :)
while i offered to fill in their schedule if they were caught short through illness, etc. in the future, i also said i’d like may 06 to be my last day of work there. my boss has hired someone to fill my job but also asked me several times to stay. so far she has me scheduled through the end of this month and i think she’ll keep me there through may 06. am okay with that and ready for more “free” time. :)
how are you and your family? hope everyone is well and happy.
have a nice night.
stay safe!
kathy
Didn’t realize you are retiring in 17 days. I missed that. Congrats! ;)
thanks, donnamae! :)
would have been easy to miss my mentioning retirement because i have not been able to get here often of late (and i miss that, knowing how you all are, seeing claudia’s beautiful photos). still dealing with fallout from my last job months after the fact. the past three nights after work, just this week alone for example, i’ve been gone until 10 or 10:30 in order to respond to how badly i was treated by the new boss at my old job. been super-busy, tired and super-stressed so haven’t been able to check in here very often, but hopefully that situation (which was the worst professional experience of my life) will improve soon or at least end.
anyway, may 06 should be my last day of work … three weeks from this friday! :)
so, how are you?!
hope you’re seeing signs of spring, too, and feeling good, happy and staying well. stay safe!
thanks again.
kathy
We are doing well….anxious for spring! So sorry to hear about all the troubles at your last job….hope it ends soon. Looking forward to seeing you more at Claudia’s! ;)
I like that adage, Kathy. Makes perfect sense!
Stay safe.
It was very muggy here this morning, & we are getting rain this aft, but the next 7-10 days are in the 40’s w rain & snow mix on Easter. Don’t know if it will ever be Spring. I have a feeling we may go from the 40’s right to the 80’s one day. So disappointing. Take care.
I hope that doesn’t happen. God knows, I’ve been through springs like that and it’s so maddening.
Fingers crossed, Chris.
Stay safe.
Love the flowers..had to use a storage unit for a couple of months while moving to Indiana…but can’t imagine paying long term…if I own something it has to be used and not stored…I was spending two months in Florida at the time. My son had one during a move …he said that he decided if it could be stored for more than few months he didn’t need it…lol. Makes sense…
For clothes and other things like utensils, etc.? Sure.
But I have lots of things that have sentimental value to me. So does Don. It’s not always about ‘need.’
Stay safe, Brenda.
thanks, donnamae! :)
would have been easy to miss my mentioning retirement because i have not been able to get here often of late (and i miss that, knowing how you all are, seeing claudia’s beautiful photos). still dealing with fallout from my last job months after the fact. the past three nights after work, just this week alone for example, i’ve been gone until 10 or 10:30 in order to respond to how badly i was treated by the new boss at my old job. been super-busy, tired and super-stressed so haven’t been able to check in here very often, but hopefully that situation (which was the worst professional experience of my life) will improve soon or at least end.
anyway, may 06 should be my last day of work … three weeks from this friday! :)
so, how are you?!
hope you’re seeing signs of spring, too, and feeling good, happy and staying well. stay safe!
thanks again.
kathy