Signs of Spring

I woke up this morning to find this, the first daffodil shoot. By lunchtime there were two others.

I hope there will be many more. Last fall I planted 50 daffodil bulbs, mostly in the front yard, so we're hoping they'll sprout. It's been a cold winter, so it's hard to know what will happen. Spring in a new house turns out to be something of a adventure, as we don't know what's going to pop up. It looks like we're going to have quite a few tulips, and some pretty little blue flowers are spreading from our neighbors' yard.

One thing we can be sure of is some sort of garden. Aaron went out yesterday and bought 700 pounds of rabbit droppings (you can find anything on Craigslist), intending to use them to fill a raised bed. There were so many that he built a second bed for them! I know he's planning all sorts of good things - tomatoes, greens, asparagus, rhubarb, peppers....and I really want to find space for some berries and some herbs. The first bed was composting all winter, so it should be ready for plants soon. Now we just have to get through these sunny days without giving in to temptation to plant too early - I think the last frost date is May 1. But I may have to start some seeds indoors so it will feel like spring - the sunshine makes it seem like it's really here!

(And yes, I'm still knitting the sideways socks. Picking up stitches for the heels and toes takes a long time, but I hope I'll be able to finish in time.)