Springtime in Montana

It’s definitely a Montana-style spring going on: spits of rain one day, flurries of snow the next. Between the two, we measured .08” of moisture last week, and every bit counts. The snow Friday evening measured about 3” of wet fluff. It was only 25° Saturday morning, with a stiff breeze, so I didn’t attempt making a snowman. Of course, the almost constant winds are busy sucking that much desired moisture right back up into the sky and blowing it away.

Dennis tells me the soil temperature at a depth of 4” is still only 40°, so it’s much too cool to be planting anything outdoors just yet. The grass that borders our driveway is greening up, though. The leaf buds on the poplar trees are swelling. We’ve seen a couple of robins and Dennis has seen a meadowlark. There are more gophers coming out to play dodge-’em alongside the roadways. All these things fill me with hope that I’ll soon be able to get outside to play in the dirt. I have spent an afternoon gathering up the downed tree limbs from the lawn. (I slept well that night.)

The dipladenia plants I had last summer have spent the winter in a corner of our bedroom, where I have a grow light set up. I’ve just done a little research on them because last summer they were bushy compact plants loaded with vibrant red and hot pink trumpet-shaped flowers. Now they’re busy vining all over the place! A couple long tendrils have grown into and through the lace curtain, seeking actual sunlight. A couple have burnt their ends by hitting up against the grow light. One tendrils is wrapping itself around the wand that twists to open and close the blind. I’ve found out that dipladenia are in the Mandevilla family, which are subtropical plants that prefer zones 8-10. While Mandevilla can get quite large, dipladenia will remain much more compact. But they’ll survive up here if you bring their pots inside for the winter. They want temps of 50° and higher, and crowded pots. (If you put them into a too large pot, they’ll spend their energy growing roots to fill that pot rather than foliage above the dirt.) I haven’t had blooms all winter, but the green foliage is pleasing. I plan to pinch off some of those vining tendrils to see if they’ll root in water for me. I need to do that with my ivies also. I like my ivies for greenery with the potted flowering plants.

The bird feeders have been emptied of the old seed. I’ve taken them apart and scrubbed out the residue of the nasty, molded seed. The mesh goldfinch feeders have been laundered. Those will get refilled and rehung soon, I hope before those birds return. Next up, the nesting boxes are slated to be opened up, emptied of the old nesting material, and cleaned out to be ready for new occupants.

The other wildlife that like our yard are still making appearances. The cottontails hop through early in the mornings. We had seven whitetail deer Sunday morning. We’ll see the deer both in the mornings and in the evenings. A recent addition is a black feline with white markings on its chin/face and white feet. It’s been checking out the wood pile I think the bunnies like, as well as the birds on the front deck. There’s been little birds nesting all winter in the Virginia creeper that’s grown up over my kitchen window. I’ve enjoyed watching them as I wash dishes. Some days they’re all puffed up for warmth. Some days they’re all sleek and small. I’m afraid some of them, or their offspring, will become that cat’s dinner. I won’t begrudge the cat a single mouse or vole it may capture and dispatch, but I’d prefer it leave the birds some. Nature doesn’t much care about my preferences, though.