A Chill and a Thrill

Freeze warnings for last night and tonight, and indeed, it looked like exactly 32 degrees on the thermometer as I raised the shades this morning. Good thing that we hauled the potted blueberry bush and hanging strawberry basket into the sun room before nightfall. 

 

For the past month, I've been keeping in step with the unusually warm weather, getting ready for the full on outdoor season. Once we returned from our "spring break" trip to New York/New Jersey, I transplanted the wintered-over cuttings of impatiens and coleus I've been rooting throughout the winter. My goal is to give them a head start in the window boxes before they get moved to the big world outside.

 I've even brought the border dahlias out of their winter hibernation to begin sprouting before going out.

And tomatoes - the little guys I've started from seeds. The bigger ones were gifted to me by Barbara, a New York girlfriend and Master Gardener with a backyard greenhouse. I'll tend them indoors until I can put one or two in big pots on the back deck; the rest go to the community garden where we'll plant the majority of veggies this summer.

The best news of the day, though, is that we spotted a hummingbird at the feeders yesterday around five o'clock.
 

It may be too chilly for a dip in the pool, but apparently not too chilly for a dip in the sugar water. I'm thrilled to see our little friends move in for the season.