Spring is in the air!

I have to say that there is nothing like* the sound of birds saying goodnight to each other at 18h45. It reminds me that spring is just around the corner!

Do you remember when you were a kid and you were SO excited to get home from school because the days were getting longer and you knew that daylight would linger just long enough to fool your parents into thinking it was earlier than it really was? That feeling has been reawakened once again now that I have my own backyard to play in! The only difference being that instead of a sandbox I have garden beds and I substitute a trowel for a plastic shovel.

I get really excited at the thought of getting my hands dirty! While on the subject here's a little Canadian gardener's tip:
Wear your gloves and stay healthy. There is a universe of life in your soil - good and bad - Clostridium tetani being one of them. Contrary to popular belief C. tetani spores are not affiliated with rusty nails, but rather they are dirty and more often than not found outside. Due to the nature of the wound they inflict (a puncture) it provides the ideal breeding ground for bacterial spores. Why does this matter to all you gardener's out there? Clostridium infections can also come in the form of whooping cough, gas gangrene, botulism or more commonly as the dreaded tetanus ... So I repeat, be wise and wear your gloves. If you do happen to cut yourself while digging around in the dirt make sure you go get a booster shot (just to clear we're not talking about a little prick from the rose bush but a open or deep gash - I don't want to be pegged as a hypochondriac). Booster shots are not necessarily good for 10 years and it's really not worth the risk. What's the worse they can say? You're fine, go home? Great! I won't get into the finer details of what tetanus can do to you, that's what Wikipedia is for ...

Back to business! I was stoked about getting home before it got dark tonight. Since I returned from Montreal I noticed little chutes of green breaking through the freshly thawed earth. So every night I hope to get home in time to see the if a flower or two has bloomed. Mother Nature was good to me today!

Check it out:

This is a Snow Drop. Coined after the fact that they can bloom underneath a blanket of snow.

These little guys decided the grass was greener on the other side (of the bed).

As for my fellow Crocuses ... They are not the colour I planted but they sure are pretty!

As the days get longer (and warmer) all the little sprouts will get easier to distinguish. Until then we'll all be patiently waiting for some colour to grace my front lawn!



*You'll probably hear that a lot from me "there is nothing like ..."

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Location:My Yard