Planting Season Has Begun!

At the last minute, I added one more rose to my order from High Country Roses. This time it was a climbing, continuous bloom, hardy, shade tolerant rose called Darlow's Enigma:

And I began cleaning up the mesh from the outsides of hay bales which had been too frozen to separate out during the winter. I'll clean up the moldy hay later:

But despite our warmer weather, there was still ice beneath many clumps of hay which still clung to the mesh. We will need more warming before I can get it all:

  Remember the old fashioned rose which I found trying to grow in the middle of the lawn? I let it grow and it had become a giant bush, with many canes too woody to produce flowers:

So it got the same treatment as the Rugosa roses. It will now have plenty of room to grow and flower:

I bought a healthy looking pink Hydrangea:

And planted it beside the Magnolia and red Hydrangea:

  Alas, right after planting, we got several days of rain and more very cold temperatures. The poor little Hydrangea wasn't prepared for such rigors and now looks dead. But it is a hardy variety and I won't give up hope yet:

The cows and horses are happy and relaxed, enjoying the sunshine and freedom from flies:

They are still getting hay, though I'm almost out:

Life is good:

The Daffodils are up and buds are swelling. We are later than most places, but such is life in the north country: