This winter has been pretty harsh here in Virginia. We’ve had quite a bit of snow and cold weather which really isn’t normal for our area. I keep seeing small signs that Spring is coming soon. But Where IS Spring, Mother Nature???

This past week, we had temperatures ranging from a high of 70 degrees to a low of 20 degrees. I chose one of the warmer days to replace the pump in my front pond. The manufacturer, Tetra Pond, sent me a whole new pump and filter system when I’d asked for just a few connection pieces that had broken over the winter. Talk about great customer service!

The pump that I received is larger with a bit more power. That’s a good thing, considering my little waterfall is running at a much quicker pace now. However, that new pump required a trip to Home Depot to find slightly larger tubing to fit.

As I was replacing the pump, I woke up this little leopard frog that had been overwintering in the pond with three goldfish.

A couple of days later, the temperatures dropped to highs of 30 degrees and lows in the 20s with wind chills in the teens. And Mother Nature brought along some strong winds with the front that passed through.

Yesterday brought warmer temperatures and a special surprise! My crocuses were up and blooming. Based on my Gardening Journal entries from last year, we are about 2.5 weeks behind the 2013 growing season.

The backyard ponds are going gangbusters. The pumps were left on all winter, which allowed the birds to “bathe” in the waterfalls. I’ve found that leaving the pumps on during the winter will result in a much healthier pond environment. Yesterday, a bullfrog was croaking, pleased that the weather was warmer. The mesh is still on the ponds and I will usually wait until late April or early May to remove it — usually after the Spring flowers have dropped from the trees.

Several of my de-icers stopped working — all the same brand. I don’t recommend those ones. They’re black with a hole in the middle. I do recommend the green ones that look like a flying saucer.

I DON’T recommend this one if you will use it for more than one winter season:

I DO recommend this one as my three have lasted several years each. It’s a higher wattage than the black one, but seems to work better:

I’m working on a new “walkway” project in the backyard. We have a muddy area that won’t grow grass or much of anything other than moss as it’s underneath a tall oak tree canopy.

In order to reuse materials, I pulled up some slate squares from an unused and awkward walkway path that’s been overgrown by pachysandra. I’ll use some bluestone dust as a base in the back for this new slate path.

And I will add some other slate pieces here and there to complete the look. We’ll add some more gray and red gravel in the empty dirt area to tie in with the existing gravel pathways for a consistent look. Now for the weather to cooperate!

Tonight, we’re expecting a few inches of snow. I usually like the snow, as it’s pretty…yet we’re all tired of it by now.

So, Mother Nature, where IS Spring?

What’s going on in YOUR garden? Leave me a comment!