First tick of the season

When I started at my current workplace, I was a little annoyed that we got Good Friday off but not public school holidays like MLK day. I may have couched my annoyance in righteous indignation but it was really about finding daycare on one day and having this useless day off three months later.
 
Now I've realized it's not all bad, having a day off work when the kids are in school. A person could go for a hike, say, and celebrate spring by picking up the first tick of the season (a special kind of magic).
 

 

Great place for ticks.

From what I hear, the whole country has been having a weird warm winter, but our weird warmth didn't start until March. We didn't get a single flake of snow or drop of rain the whole month--usually that's our snowiest month. As a gardener, it's hard to know whether to rejoice, or play it cannily safe, or scream that the sky is falling.

I went with the first option and planted some tomato seedlings the last day of March. March! Usually I don't put out tomatoes until May.

Not visible: two tomato seedlings.

Otherwise, it's been a busy week. I've been preoccupied by a project, by work deadlines, and by camp strategy (and procrastination thereof.) Next week: just as busy.

Even Si did some planting in his personal garden plot (peas and carrots). Photo (and frame) courtesy Helen.