Spring is here! Flocks of robins are hopping all over our yard and the snow is finally gone!
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| 8-1/2″ x 11″, ink & watercolor in a Stillman & Birn Beta series sketchbook. Drawings done with a black Pigma Micron 01 pen. |
Last Friday was officially the first day of spring, and even though the temperatures were still in the thirties and the sun was hidden behind banks of clouds, I had the urge to head outside and see if I could find anything green in this landscape of greys and browns.
I packed my nature journal, folding stool and a few pens and pencils in my backpack and took off down the hill to the woods.
The naturalized daffodils are just beginning to push through the carpet of fallen leaves on the forest floor.
Here and there, I saw the starting growth of a green plant with cute little scalloped-edge leaves. Wild onions are beginning to grow. Soon they’ll be everywhere in the fields and woods.
Last year’s dark green moss has bright yellow new growth.
That’s about all I could find growing in the woods, so I headed back to the house and found daylilies popping up in the flower beds. Trouble is, the deer have found them, too. They lo-o-o-ve fresh, crunchy daylily shoots. Time to mix up a batch of my special deer-repellant spray!
The primrose plants that border the front flower bed are starting to grow, too. Fresh yellow-green leaves are spiraling out from the center of the hardy perennial plant.
Even the grass is beginning to show signs of growth.
Come on spring! We’re ready and waiting for you!
3 Comments
Love your change of seasons sketch-gives us hope! We have a problem with deer too. Can you tell me your repellant recipe?
This is an adaptation of a recipe I found online:
3 raw eggs
3 T. red hot sauce
3 T. of garlic juice or minced
1 T. Dawn dish detergent
Add enough water to a blender to process and mix well. Strain out the solids. Add the liquid to a gallon of water and spray on plants. Reapply every two weeks or so.
It seems to help deter the deer and keep them from eating new plant growth in the spring.
Lovely sketches of the new Spring growth. I think we are a bit behind you here on Long Island and aside from snowdrops the other day I haven't seen any evidence of anything trying to sprout. The recent snow seems to slowed things down. I did go out and get myself some potted tulips to bring the feel of Spring inside. Enjoy!