Spring in New England

It's spring all over today - the sun's over the equator and all's right with the world. In New England, especially out here in western Massachusetts almost in the Berkshires and not all that far from Albany, NY, spring comes in with temps in the 20s. It's not balmy enough to go out without a hat and gloves unless you want cold ears and fingers.

Despite the lawn chairs looking hopeful over there, patches of snow are still hanging on in the shady spots, and ice covers the birdbath.

The appropriate footwear is not sandals but muck boots. The only reason that this boot is not mucky is that the ground is still frozen this morning.

But spring has a way of slowly creeping up before it bursts out.

Iris are greening up in the fishpond.

Although ice covers the surface of the water, it will thaw once the sun has been on it for a while.

Snowdrop bulbs have broken through the leaf cover around Bobby Buddha.

Bobby survives although he had a tough winter and suffered damage to his head where a couple of chunks of concrete broke off.

There is still snow amid the raised beds.

But the garden area is pretty clear overall.

The compost bins stand ready although mostly still frozen. (From the left: collected leaves, current compost, compost made last summer/fall to be spread this spring.)

From the back of the yard, things look pretty good...

especially with a couple of doggy boys added in.

And the pansies we bought the other day survived a frosty night outside and will be perked up again by noontime - the most hopeful sign of spring.