Since a blustery cold front seems to have put spring on hold, I thought I would post a gardening update.  Although my stony north-facing garden runs a month behind everyone else’s, my tulips finally came up!  I have a large bed of delicate pink tulips (appropriately named “Don Quichotte”) along with a smattering of maroon-black “Queen of the Night” tulips around my rose.  It’s sad to think that my garden is probably as lovely on this cold windy workday as it will ever be again.

The tulips survived winter’s chill and put roots in the grim waste only to narrowly escape an unexpected adversary.  Just as they were about to bloom, a creature crept into my yard and gnawed the heads off my flowers!  What could it be?  Memories of raccoons and slinking possums ran through my head along with more esoteric terrors (wolverines? bears? giant sloths? harpies?) however, internet research revealed the culprit to be a humble squirrel.  After spraying a variety of vile “critter ridders” on my garden with no effect, I put up some jaunty mylar balloons.  Their shining, lurching presence has driven the culprit off.

Ignore the camera angle and pretend the heart balloon represents my appreciation for my readers.