Sugar Maples and Spring

I think spring "might" be here but I'm not holding my breath. Up here in Muskoka I've seen snow on Mother's Day in May. It didn't last long but it was mighty depressing..We are enjoying the most unusual, wonderfully warm temperatures for March Break that I can ever remember during the fifteen years of living here.

I am enjoying each day as it comes and can mark on my calendar this year that I started gardening in March. It was actually too warm to wear a coat yesterday so I went walking in a 3/4 sleeved shirt. Many people are in tee-shirts and shorts but I feel that's just tempting fate. I finished raking off one flower bed along the front of the house and while walking past our maple tree out back caught sight of some color. When I brushed the leaves off with my gloves I saw pansies I'd planted last year proudly blooming away. I have one lonely crocus in bloom, so will watch each day for more.

This coming Thursday I will be bombarded with color and flowers as I'm attending the Canada Blooms Gardening Show in Toronto. I'm sure it will be spring color over-load but I will take my camera so I can enjoy some of my favorites once back home..there is so much to see it's hard to take it all in during one day. Thankfully I will be going down by bus and returning the same way so can't make large purchases. But I will certainly be taking notes.

My husband has been saving his Canadian Tire money for me and when I added it up today, I have the grand total of $24.00 towards my summer planting. That sure won't go far but every little bit helps. I've cut back a lot on annuals in the last couple of years as it's hard to find people to water them everyday should we go away.

The reason I posted a picture of a road up here in the fall with sugar maples is that I was quite certain I was going to miss such a big blast of color when I finally moved to P.E.I. in several years. There are busloads of people who drive up here every year to see the miles upon miles of fall color. It's a glorious sight to behold.

My step-son Ryan is an arborist who lives out in Victoria B.C. and he misses the sugar  maples a lot. He is getting married in September but taking two weeks holidays to go East to our island home in May to help us with renovations and prune my apple trees. But the greatest gift I feel he is giving us is that he has ordered 20 sugar maples, 4 red Oaks and 10 White Ash to be planted on our property in May. He found a wonderful nursery on the island so the trees will come from there..Orginally he was going to have them shipped from Ontario, but this is much better getting them on the island. I am thrilled to bits to know that somewhere on our property we will have the gorgeous orange, yellows and reds of sugar maples.

Ryan will have to walk our property to see where he wants to plant them and keep them protected until they are big enough to survive on their own. Having many acres of trees already, it's most timely having an arborist in the family. We can keep him busy every vacation he wants to spend with us. He is also pleased to hear I will be taking out many bird houses I have here to put up and hopefully my husband will make many more. (or I'll beg my brother for some more!)

Perhaps it's only a dream but I hope to have daily walks around the perimeter of our property, looking for bird species and admiring our many trees already established plus watching how the newly planted trees are progressing as Ryan, my step-son will want reports.

Knowing the nursery in Orwell is fairly close to where we live I'm sure I will be visiting it often and already plan to visit it this May to get an idea of what bushes they have. With so many acres of land to work with I will want to order one of everything! I'll ask them if they take Canadian Tire money!