Has the weather ever been this nice in March?!

Wow! These crocuses seem to have popped up overnight! I swear they weren't there yesterday. The rain and warm weather are bringing spring on very quickly. All the trees have bright red blossoms, indicating that leaves are coming shortly. The daffodils, daylillies, tulips, and irises we have planted everywhere are growing by leaps and bounds. I love spring! Today was about 70 degrees and sunny. I had the day off work, so I took the opportunity to go hiking at Sleeping Giant State Park. It's just a molehill compared to the mountains I hiked last year, but it was nice to be outside again.

 Anyway, I'm not about to get into scientific arguments concerning global warming, but usually in March there's still snow on the ground. Our usual complaint each March is this: "Well, the book says we can plant peas on the 20th.... if only we could find the garden!" This year, however, it has been consistently warm and snow-free since the 1st!  The weather prediction for next week is also in the 50's and 60's, with some rain. If it stays like this, I'll be able to move my entire gardening schedule back a little, and just pray that we don't get any frosts.

For the past two days I've been moving the seedling flats outside during the day, to help them get a little extra sunlight. They are showing their appreciation by growing some of their first true leaves. Today I am going to give them their second feeding. I do this by taking a little seaweed and a horse apple or two from the compost pile, tie them up in cheesecloth, and soaking them in a bowl of water for an hour. Then I water this "tea" to the seedlings. I am also going to start my lettuce seeds indoors today or tomorrow.