A NEW PLAY

Andy is working on the sets at the local Theatre for a new children's play that will be staged in mid-April. Rehearsals are underway and, being on the theatre board, I will be busy for the next couple of weeks helping get things set up.

PLEASE SEND COMMENTS TO ME !!!

I'd love to know who is reading my blog, so anyone reading this is requested to Click on "COMMENT" at the bottom of this entry and send me your comment -- even if it is just "read it" and your name.

Our B&B is filling up quickly with reservations for the summer! We have some weekends booked for July and August, so April and May would be a good time for our friends from Dallas to come visit. The New Mexico room should be finished and furnished sometime in April. Both the Texas Room and the Oklahoma room are rented through March and possibly into April. We have some very nice guests with us right now. We hope they are here long enough to get to see the beauty of the grounds this spring, and enjoy sitting on the deck in nice weather.

Even though it is over 60 degrees today, there is snow in the forecast for this coming weekend. Fortunately, it isn't going to stay cold and the snowfall is only expected to be "flurries", so by Monday we should be back to nice weather.

Andy and I have strolled around the property and made plans for spring trimming, path clearing, and flower planting in strategic spots. I am excited to see some of the early blooming perennials starting to put on new growth: three varieties of coreopsis, coneflower, purple columbine, and shasta daisy are looking healthy. Irises and daylillies are sprouting. The quince and currant are about to "pop". Sadly, the forsythia we planted last spring isn't looking too good, though it does have some live branches. I can see that one of the japanese red-leaf maples we planted survived the winter but I can't tell if the second one did -- I should be able to see signs of life on that one by mid-April.

I planted potatoes, lettuces, cilantro, and spinach last weekend, and parsley is already growing from seed planted at the end of last season. I also planted some seeds for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant and put them in a covered shelf unit that will hopefully have the effect of a hothouse. I have to rake up lots of leaves now that the days are getting warmer and the sun is out. I haven't see any signs of bluebonnets yet, but am still hopeful -- maybe this next little wave of moisture will help them to germinate.

SPRING IS ON ITS WAY!!

On Saturday, Andy and I walked around the property looking for signs of plant life. The temperature got up to 58 degrees and it was sunny. We found some flowering crocus, and buds on the flowering quince, forsythia, and the currant bushes. These are always the first harbingers of spring, and they will bloom while it is still cold. The daffodils and jonquils are sending up shoots but no buds are showing yet. They should appear in the next two weeks. The irises are sending up new shoots. I am hesitant to pick up the dead leaves that are acting as mulch, because there might be another cold spell, but I think next weekend I'll start on that job. I did cut back some of the dead from the chyrsanthemums and canna lillies. The Colorado spruce seedlings have survived and look healthy.

I sowed some Indian Blanket, gallardia, and bluebonnet seed in the front field. We'll just have to wait and see what comes up and where.

The weather was so nice on Saturday that Andy got the Desoto out and we took it for a ride.