Yikes!!!  It's been an entire year since my last post.   I won't pledge to write more frequently as that smacks of New Years Resolutions .

We've just come out of a gullywhomper of a winter and Mother Nature is dragging her heels even in late April.   We have a few gorgeous days and are then thrown right back into the slew of despond,  cold with rain.

I've spent hours in my perennial garden over the past week in an all out attempt to revivify it.  Last summer was very wet and we all know how clay soil reacts to  copious amounts of water.  Slime!!  By the end of last summer I had lost a number of the perennials that had been lovingly moved there from previous gardens.  In addition to constantly wet soil I feared that all the nutrients had been washed away leaving a sour soil and a magnificent crop of moss.

Last weekend I stripped away the moss, pulled out the dead plants and began the process of digging in 25 bags of organic composted down manure.  This is not work for the faint of heart!   I finished up that portion of the revivification process yesterday afternoon and I must say that it was very satisfying.  I should have taken a few pictures!  Since the afternoon was warm, but not too warm, I hauled out the bags of natural cedar mulch.  I hope that this mulch won't leach the nitrogen from the soil, time will tell I guess.   Any attempt to find a local source of composted mulch was an abject failure so bags of cedar mulch it was.   I'd no idea how much RED mulch there is out there.  Hideous!!   I bought 15 bags thinking that that would be plenty, I was wrong.   On my hands and knees, eleven bags worth were lovingly spread around the just emerging plants and only half the garden is covered.  Today it's too wet to work outside.

The trees that we have had planted over the past couple of years are looking fabulous!  The only ones to have barely leafed out are the two Sargent Crabs.  The Swamp White Oak, Red Oak & White Oak are nearly ready to pop as is the Cornus Florida.  Several weeks ago I went over to Elhannon Nursery and chose three more trees to be planted this year, a Sycamore,  Serviceberry and Black Gum (Tupelo).

It's been so long since I've posted a picture I'll have to learn how to do it all over again.

HEPATICA

First  wildflowers of the year!!!  The Dutchman's Breeches are peeking through as is the May Apple and Toad Trillium.    My double Bloodroot seems to be dying back a bit.  Guess it doesn't like it's new home.

CATS CRADLE

Last week I went over to Elhannon Nursery to meet up with Jim Sutton for the purpose of choosing a 'significant' tree to plant in our front meadow.  As we drove down through the nursery I spotted this work of art and he stopped so that I could take a picture.  This is a large oak, Red I think, that was hand dug and hand tied by Adreus and his brothers and along with two others, one is visible in the background will be loaded onto a flat bed and driven to the Cape.  Apparently the purchaser buys several each year.   I think that his pockets must be a bit deeper than ours however as we buy only on each year.

This years tree will be another oak, White Oak to be specific.  Unfortunately I neglected to get a picture of it but will be sure to post some pics here when they deliver and plant it.

UPHOLSTERY FABRIC

The fabric directly below is a gorgeous cotton damask and will be the new upholstery fabric for the camelback sofa.

The yellow/gold fabric was chosen to cover my favorite chair.

SHARPIE COMES FOR LUNCH

Sharp-shinned Hawk

This Sharpie is not an unfamiliar visitor to Amen Farm.   He/she breezes through a couple of times a week and often chooses to sit atop one feeder or another in wait for lunch to arrive. It never does.   I do wonder if this might be a 1st year bird that isn't yet as wile as a successful adult.

Awoke this morning to a world of white and it is still coming down.  I'm not sure whether it will amount to much but I'll take whatever comes with gratitude.

Yesterday I drove down to West Springfield to pay a visit to Osgood Textiles.  My mission was to find fabric  to reupholster my favorite chair.  Over the last several months I have made a number of trips to Osgood Textiles and have never failed to score  the perfect fabric for one piece of furniture or another.  On my first trip I found some gorgeous dusky apricot velvet with small navy motifs .......perfect for the two Susie Wiggins chairs presently lying is disrepair in the basement.  Next I  found the perfect cotton damask for the camelback sofa in our living room.  I'll attempt to take photos a bit later in the day.

Apparently I am  unable to download pictures from iPhoto to this blog??????  Yet another mountain to climb.  Fortunately our library will be offering a Mac Help session in February.  Perhaps I'll be able to figure this out on my own.  Stay tuned!!

Meanwhile, the weather seems much like last winter.   We had a bit of snow in late December/early January and it is ALL gone.  I 've been on my snowshoes just once.  So sad.

All for now as I'm off to pick up my sewing machine and then to West Springfield to choose some fabric for two living room chairs.

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy has just passed through.  It is pretty windy out there this morning but I'd say that we drew the long straw this time.  We did have some rain and wind overnight but nothing to frighten us.  Central Vermont must have been working overtime because our lights didn't flicker but once.

Unfortunately I can't post any pictures because I am so technically challenged that I can't figure out how to get my photos from my PC to my MacBook.