Poor confused plants

We had a bout of warm weather in January that to my surprise resulted in the daffodils beginning to sprout. What surprised me is that such a relatively short period of warmth was enough to confuse the plants. The period started around the 8th and only lasted about 5 days with highs >40F including a 3-day stretch of highs in the 50s & 60s peaking at 64F on the 12th; most nights were also fairly warm with temps above freezing.

Daffodils sprouting in mid-January

This is definitely the earliest I've ever seen this occur and easily bests last year's February 4th "record". They have even grown more since then, so we'll see how they do this spring.

(Note: this was posted on 3/3/2013)

Winter? I'm still waiting for you to arrive...

Winter just didn't come this year (and yes, I'm still alive, btw)... I didn't even have to use my shovel once this winter - it's just sad (I know, it's not technically over, but odds are getting more slim by the day that we'll much more snow this winter). But, on the upside I have had a nice break from yard work, so winter still served it's purpose in that regard. Now, I'm starting to think about spring. Our daffodils have been thinking about it, too, as evidenced by this photo from few weeks ago:

Daffodils sprouting on February 4th

Poor confused plants. I feel for you.

So, I'm coming out of hibernation now. By the end of last year I was just eager for winter to be here and to have a break from all things yard-related, despite the fact that I did a few things since I "went dark". I'll be back-posting these for my records, and will have more posts coming as I gear up for a busy 2012.