Thyme has Come Today

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Things have gone a little crazy here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To some degree I expect this. At some point in March it gets warmer here, and in my twenty-five years here I have often seen people running around in shorts and flip flops in fifty degree whether with piles of snow still on the ground.

But come on, Mother Nature, this is just ridiculous. 

On Saturday we didn't just break the record high temperature, we did it by ten degrees*. People have gone insane. There are women in bikinis by lakes, the parks, zoos, and ice cream shops are packed. People are not only wearing their sandals and shorts, but their tank tops and sunglasses. 

I have not been immune to the madness. I grilled outside, I walked places, I hung out in the park. Don't worry, no bikinis. (There's a mental picture you can all do without)

It occurred to me some time last week to check under my leaf cover. I've been nervous about my tender perennials.  Many many plants are technically perennials, but few are truly able to come back after a Minnesota winter. Our winter here has been mild for the most part, but there has been no protective snow cover to keep my Mediterranean lovelies (rosemary, sage, oregano) away from the coldest temperatures. I did have the protection of a thick layer of leaf and grass clippings. So I raked it back over the corner, and found what I'd hoped for. Thyme was my terminator herb last year, I mowed over it, accidentally stepped on it, and stabbed or uprooted some, and it didn't die. Now it's green under a layer of leaves.

Today, it's a lovely day in the mid seventies, we're alternating between sunshine and clouds, and getting ready for some rain to alleviate our drought conditions. I went outside to plant peas. In some parts of the world St. Patrick's day is the normal day for planting peas, but here it's somewhat of a risk. There's always the chance that winter will come back with a vengeance. But seeds are cheap, and I have an extra packet of unused Sugar Snap Pea seeds from last year. So I went out into the yard, sprayed down a few thousand Box Elder Bugs, and got out the shovel and hoe. 

I planted about six pea seeds. We'll see if they come up soon, or if winter comes with a vengeance to smite them down. Then I decided to rake back the leaf cover and see just how well my Thyme was doing:

Terminator Thyme cannot be killed!

And it turns out there's another six inches of it under where my hand is. Now this is exciting. If there's green stuff growing under that leaf pile, who knows what other herbs survived. So I decided to check. The oregano is struggling, but showing green:

The rosemary is probably still a goner. Damn. But there was one little tender sprig growing off the old wood on the sage, which I had never expected. So since I had budgeted to replace ALL of these plants, I am extremely excited to see even a few of them back in the fray for this year.

Then, in the weekend since I'd last checked, the roses decided to surprise me as well, by covering themselves in buds. Pardon my camera's inability to focus on what is right in front of the lens:

The Dianthus is back, the tulips are popping up in front, and it seems spring is here early. Huzzah.

Also...

I turned around and noticed I was no longer alone in my garden. Meet our new regular guest.

He needs a good surly wild tom cat name. Any ideas?

So here it is, the first status shot of the season. Spring here we come:

* This is a lie. It was eight degrees. But I couldn't be bothered to look it up exactly when I first wrote it. More information about our weather