Spring does not arrive easily up here in the mountains of northeast Washington State. No indeed, Spring shows up in spurts and sputters teasing us with a day of 60 degrees, sun shining, birds chirping and peepers peeping. Then the next day we awake to 25 degrees and snow covering the ground! This torment goes on for weeks until winter is finally beaten down and loses its icy grip for good. But Springtime is also glorious up here! I step out onto the front porch at 5:30 am to see and hear the Goldfinch, Robins, Swallows and Bluebirds flitting through the air and chirping their blessed little hearts out. Watching them eat at the bird feeders makes my heart happy.
Here’s what Spring looks like up here in the Back of the Beyond in Ferry County, Washington!
Green! We have green! Finally after months of snow, then drab browns and grey, the grass is turning green. There is no color on earth as pretty as spring green.
Sunrise over the Kettle Range is like watching fire in the sky!
Ice out in Curlew Lake! Seeing the sun dappled water from my front yard is such a treat. Time to get the boat out and in the water.
Watching Mt. Elizabeth come back to life after being snow covered for months is such a joy. Juxtaposed against that brilliant blue sky is just wonderful!
The snow has melted down here at 2500 ft elevation but the mountain snow won’t be gone until the end of May. Still beautiful to see.
Our fields and pastures are covered in tiny bright yellow Buttercups which are the first flowers of Spring up here.
Springtime is a busy season for us what with flower gardens to tend and vegetable gardens to prepare for planting. This front flower garden has not been given proper attention in years. That is changing as we speak. Clearing out the debris, cutting back overgrown shrubs, pruning the Crabapple tree. Dan planted new Blueberry bushes in there last week. I am the designated “raker” and general contractor 🙂
I managed to uncover these 4 Daffodils who have survived the benign neglect as we focused on other areas. They are my favorite spring flower and I guarantee you that next year there will be 100 of them!
Our Willow tree is budding and soon will provide the only shade we have in our yard. It’s a beautiful tree and I love sitting under it with a glass of ice tea.
We’ve made plans for the side yard and they include making a flower “bed” out of the old iron crib that I slept in as a baby. Stay tuned for updates!
The vegetable garden is ready for planting. Sparky came home yesterday with bags of red onion, yellow onion and Walla Walla Onion sets. Hundreds of Onions. Oh my! Guess we are going to have onions!
The Rhubarb crowns have finally broken through. We were beginning to think we had lost them over the long winter. Every day, I check to see if the Asparagus spears are showing their little heads but they are reluctant right now.
Chives are up!
And so is the Horseradish!
I have started my flower seeds and Sparky has both Tomato and Green Peppers started. I love both Cosmos and Marigolds. I plant Marigolds every year in memory of my Dad. They were his favorite and he planted them every year in front of my childhood home.
I have been planting a few Sunflowers the past few years. They are both gorgeous, cheerful and useful. The birds feast on them. I can’t wait to get them in the ground!
Somebody finally got himself a greenhouse! It’s only in a thousand pieces but Sparky is working hard on getting it put together. He has wanted one for many years.
And finally, one sure sign that Spring is here to stay is when the White Tail Deer come down fearlessly into the fields to feed on the new shoots of grass. There is one that I can tell is with child and soon the fawns will start to appear. There are six deer pictured below.
It’s early spring here and we still have a ways to go. I am not so patiently waiting for leaf out and the fruit trees to blossom. I am so eager for all our Lilacs to show their beauty and scent the air with that unmistakable aroma. But for now, I am trying to be content and grateful for the blessings of early Spring and we truly are blessed up here in the Back of the Beyond in Ferry County, Washington!
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoy my walk through early Spring. I wish you glorious warm, sunny days filled with the chirping of birds, the scent of blooming Lilacs and bright beautiful colors!
Journey on!
Hugs and much love from me,
Karen, TJG
Love seeing your photos and descriptions!
Spring hit very early here in SW WA. The trees are nearly leaf’d-out (except for the maples, they are always a bit behind but they are also the last to loose their leaves as well) and the lawn is now up to twice a week cutting. Yesterday was 75°, very strange for this time of year! Actually slept with the windows open last night, for the first time this year.
I am really looking forward to seeing Republic early this summer!