It's Mud Season!!

 People who thought this was going to be an easy spring this year with little mud to contend with, are greatly disappointed. Everyone I've spoken to who lives on a back (dirt) road is saying mud is literally running-board deep this year. West Shore Road was pretty good until this weekend. The warm days last week with nights above freezing, topped off with some rain over the weekend, got the frost coming out in a hurry. The frost went very deep this year because we had long periods of below-zero temperatures and not a lot of snow to insulate, so when the top few inches thaws quickly, there's no chance for the water to permeate the frozen earth below and mud happens. Not only do we have a foot or so of mud in some spots right now, almost the whole stretch from Route 2 to my house (and I suspect beyond, as well) is bolt-loosening, car wrecking washboard, in between those mud bogs.

I had an appointment in St. Johnsbury this morning, and was prepared for the mud. Marie had gone out early with her truck and let Jamie know what to expect, so he passed the warning on to me. I decided not to reschedule my appointment, but I put my "barn boots" in the car, just in case. I've ruined more than one pair of shoes slogging through mud when I was unprepared. Even if you don't get your vehicle stuck, if you have to leave it on the other side of a mudhole and walk any distance at all, you'd better have good boots on. Fortunately, I made it back home ok, but my car is well splattered with mud.

We were white with a fresh coating of snow this morning, so it looked more like winter here. That has melted during the day, even though the temperature hasn't been very warm. It was actually in the low 40s, but we've had a strong north wind that made it seem a lot colder. Workmen were busy working on the back side of the roof on Hastings Store today. They have removed all of the old roofing that curled up in the wind a week ago, and will redo the whole thing. I bet it was cold working out there - the wind was whipping through West Danville, as usual.

I had a call from my ice-fishing friend today who reports about 26 inches of ice now. He said there are about 6 inches of slushy ice on top of firmer ice, but all of the ice is much softer than it has been. He said he will be going out perhaps a couple more times, because the fishing seems to be better than it has been. He didn't tell me exactly where on the pond he was fishing, but he said he got a good catch, and attributes it to the fish responding to spring weather. 

This is also a good time to prune fruit trees. I had several done last year by Regenerative Gardenworks, in Peacham, and I was so pleased, I had Aubrey came again this year to do another crab apple tree for me. This was a small one I had thought was an ornamental variety, but he said it is a genuine crab apple and worth saving. It is right in front of my living room window and was in bad shape, but now it looks much, much better and I'm sure it will be a lot happier having had some expert attention.

The top picture is my little crab tree before it was pruned; on the left, Aubrey at work on Saturday afternoon, and on the right is the tree after he finished working on it. He said it will take a year or so for it to show a lot of blooms, but I am very pleased just to see it looking so much better. It hasn't bloomed well since it was transplanted here from camp years ago. It nearly died a couple times, but I hated to cut it down - or transplant it to a better spot, so I kept it. It was a Mother's Day gift and that's why I brought it with me when Fred and I moved to this house. I'll be anxious to see how the trees Aubrey pruned for me last year do this spring. He said they should bloom well this year. He is meticulous and I really enjoy watching him work - and seeing the results of his artistry. I'm also impressed with his website - there really isn't much he and his crew can't do. He even designs websites and does graphic design, house sitting, gardening and lawn care, bush hogging, moving or cleaning - you name it, he has someone with experience to do whatever you need. He is an engaging young man, and I enjoy talking with him.

Now I'm anxiously waiting for the ice to melt in my pond so the peppers will begin serenading me at night. I wasn't sure how frogs survive in the winter, so I looked it up and found that they don't burrow into the mud, but go into a state of hibernation at the bottom of a pond. They can even be frozen for a period of time and may still revive then they thaw out. Pretty remarkable. My pond is deep enough so they would be ok on the bottom and wouldn't freeze, but it's still amazing that they are so adaptable. 

I took down all my bird feeders yesterday. This morning the chickadees were frantically flying up to the window where the feeder had been attached, no doubt wondering where their easy meal was. I felt sorry for them, what with the new snow on the ground and all, but I'm sure they will survive just fine. Not only that, I think my timing was spot on, because I noticed tracks in the snow far down on the lawn that looked like it could have been a bear. One of my motion-sensitive lights out back was triggered early this morning, but I didn't bother to get up to see what it was. Now I'm thinking it could have been a bear. He or she was out of luck except for what seeds are on the ground - and between the birds and the squirrels, those are fairly well cleaned up. Just another sign of spring - the bears are out and about!