While listening to a gardening show on the radio this morning, I realized that I was not the only person wondering what will happen to all the trees/shrubs that are budding and sprouting in February.
The sea buckthorn that I planted in the yard last year has leaves that are a half inch long. The seedlings were only about 8 inches tall when they were planted last spring. They grew to more than 2 feet in one season. I was so excited with their rapid growth but after seeing their leaves popping in February, I can only hope that they will survive.
I noticed the pussy willows in full bloom at Elk Island yesterday. On the drive back, I paid more attention to the willow thickets along the roadside. In years past at Easter, I would stop and snip a couple of branches to stick into table arrangements. At this rate, there won't be any pussy willows at Easter.
In addition to the trees taking a beating from the weather, the animals are also doing a number to the branches and trunks.
Just beyond the admission booth at Elk Island, many of the willow branches have been stripped bare of their bark. The porcupines have been busy. Every time I see their handiwork, I marvel at how they can actually accomplish what they do. Why don't the thin branches bend under the porcupine's weight?
Last fall the beavers were busy along the first boardwalk on the Amisk Wuche trail. They chewed through the tree trunks, leaving the tree holding on by less than a quarter of its original thickness. With the gusty winds over the past couple of weeks, the parks staff were kept busy with clearing the fallen timber. It didn't take much for them to snap off like a toothpick. Some of the trunks looked to be recently chewed. Could the beavers have found their way out from under the ice?
Today, it appears that February is the new March. Will all the snow that we should have had, come in March? Will we have rain instead? I sure hope that we get one of the two for the sake of all my recently planted shrubs and trees.
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