Winter or Spring? What Do The Groundhogs Say?

Snowdrops blooming on Groundhog's Day!

Can You Believe This Weather?!

As I stroll along our woodland path enjoying another beautiful day of 45- 50 degree weather, I'm wondering what happened to the winter? If I closed my eyes, it could easily be a spring day, the birds are chirping, the squirrels are chasing each other through the trees, and all my bulbs are beginning to emerge! Usually in March I'm greeted by these little white flowers called Snowdrops, but, here they are beginning to bloom throughout my yard and along my woodland path in the beginning of February!

I'm not complaining! Here, in the NW part of NJ, we are usually shoveling snow and skating on our ice rink in February. But here I am, outside with just a sweater! We've been having very strange weather this fall and winter. We had our big snow storm in October when the trees still had their leaves! But now when we should be having snow storms, its been mild weather with more rain than snow. 

Since today is Groundhog's Day, I was hoping that  the groundhog's Phil or Chuck might be able to tell me if we will see an early spring this year or have 6 more weeks of winter. The prospect of  bracing for a snow storm in the coming days is not appealing at all, especially now that I have spring fever! However, after watching the news, I found that even they were split on what to expect this year!  Phil, the Groundhog from Pennsylvania claimed we would have 6 more weeks of winter and Chuck the Groundhog from Long Island, NY said definitely spring is here!

So, living somewhere between these two cute chubby creatures, I decided to go with Chuck!

Only time will tell which groundhog will predict the true outcome of this winter's ending.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the fresh air and start planning my vegetable garden!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Snowdrops! First Signs of Spring!

After a long snowy winter, I am so happy to see my lovely snowdrops beginning to bloom! The past five days of rain, washed away the piles of snow that covered our yard, and exposed these beautiful little plants. They are always the first flowers to bloom in my yard and are always a welcomed site! When I see them blooming, I know that spring is just around the corner!

The botanical name for these beautiful spring flowers is Galanthus nivalis, the common name is Snowdrops. I received a handfull of these little 4" flowers from a friend many years ago. When we bought our current house I dug my little patch of bulbs up and brought them with me.  Through the years, they have spread everywhere in my yard! I love them! When big groups of them are in bloom, they look like drifts of snow!

One of my favorite things to do each year is share a small pot of them with family, special friends, and neighbors! I have introduced many gardens across the east coast with these friendly little flowers!

This gorgeous photo was taken by André Karwath aka Aka.

 Hopefully the rain will stop soon so I can get a few photos of my own!