Spring Musings

Yesterday I went to see Holly (my hair stylist) for my quarterly cut and color.  Holly is barely into her 20's.  She's sweet, cute and chatty.  She asked what I wanted..."Kill the grey"...and set to work, chatting the whole time. 

Now usually I'm a pretty quiet customer but yesterday I fell into conversation with her easily. 

We talked about the Superbowl.  She's a fan, I'm not.  About a recent trip she took to the Biltmore.  I've lived here 13 years and have never been. 



(*I must speak to SM about a weekend trip there this Spring.  The gardens are supposedly fantastic in Spring with all the flowers.) 

We spoke of her mom's recent midlife crisis.  She's 48 (2 years younger than I am) and she cut off all her long hair in favor of a shorter cut.  She also discovered Facebook which, according to Holly, has become an obsession with her.  Holly says she spends all day at it much to Holly's disgust.

We talked about the weird weather.  Either no Winter or an early Spring, not sure which.  Holly said her allergies are starting up and she started her Claritan last week.

Really?  In February?

Now for those of you who don't know, Charlotte NC happens to be one of the Top Ten Allergy Capitals in The US.  Doesn't matter if you've never suffered from allergies before in your life.  Move here and you will suffer along with the rest of us.  It's a common conversation down here.  There must be more Claritan sold per capita here than anywhere else on the planet.

I haven't been bothered yet this year but I'm thinking of getting started.  It's best to start taking the Claritan BEFORE the season hits.  For me that's usually March. 

All this got me wondering if we're going to have an early Spring this year.  SM thinks so.  He says he saw some of the red maples locally starting to bud.  I've got dandelions popping and flowering shrubs blooming in our backyard already.  And the birds are back and singing to us every morning now.

Poor Ginny has turned into an "itchball" and I just increased her allergy medications to twice a day.  (Nothing worse than a dog who itches constantly.)

And last week I read on one of ya'lls blog about the 2012 change in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.  (You can click on your state or plug in your zip code and get your updated "zone".)

According to the website I'm still in 7b so my last frost date hasn't changed.  It's still April 15th.  But this got me thinking...It is a milder winter.  Do I want to take a chance and start some things early?  Someone seems to be tapping on my shoulder and whispering in my ear that it's OK.  Spring is here. 

REALLY? 

I could still start most of my garden as planned but...if I want to take the chance...I could start a few tomatoes and peppers inside early.  I could also talk to SM about building a small hoop house and direct sow some lettuce early.  (It would be so yummy to have fresh lettuce.)  And peas are pretty tough.  I could start some of those too. 

Last year, according to my notes in my garden notebook...("Thank You" to whomever suggested keeping a garden notebook.  I'd never have remembered this stuff!)...I direct sowed peas on 2-21 and lettuce on 3-14.

Huh.  Not that far off at all.  And according to AccuWeather's 15 day forecast, our temperatures will range from the mid 30's to the upper 60's.  Perfectly fine for starting those crops.

Let the season begin?!?  Maybe.  I need to muse on this a bit more.