Here in Zone 4, it was sunny, breezy and weirdly warm. In fact, it was a bit like spring in the Cotswolds, minus the daffodils.
Locally, on the ground, Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) thought it was time to grow, as evidenced by its new purplish-green shoots. Blue flax should definitely not have the frond-like, vibrant foliage it currently does in early January.
Buddliea leaves appeared to be coming back to life. Periwinkle and Creeping Veronica cover the ground, green and luxuriant, perhaps still growing.
On the north side of the house, there were a couple of oxeye daisies blooming, peeking out from under fallen maple leaves. On the south side, behind the deck, as I walked over green lawn to the composter, several of Anthemis Marguerite's yellow blossoms greeted me. Most unusual.
Near the composter, Sweet Woodruff was a very perky mass of light emerald, showing no sign of frost's effects.
How I wish now that I had put lots of leaves over my plants and around small deciduous trees.
The leaves would help to insulate plants from warm temperatures and the warmth of direct sunlight minus the cooling effect of snow.
Premature wake-up caused by warmer weather and lengthening sunlight hours can trigger larger plants to sustain serious damage.
Will my weeping, fruiting mulberry tree survive another season of freeze and thaw cycles?
A couple of years ago, I lost the front half of the top branches of the mulberry. Sap started to flow during a mild, sunny spell in late winter and then a deep freeze hit.
At the top of the trunk, where the crown of branches begins to radiate outward, the tree's trunk swelled and then split, cutting off a group of branches from life-giving sap.
There was no alternative but to trim off those dead branches. Now, some of my friends call the tree "the Bonsai". It is quite harshly miniaturized at the top by necessary pruning.
Over the past few days, squirrels have been on the deck, packing all sorts of maple keys deposited in the fall into their cheeks. The rodents' discovery was impeded briefly by a cosmetic dustings of snow.
Who doesn't enjoy these strangely mild temperatures? Well, I am feeling quite uneasy about the very easy living in January.
Christmas week, it was reported that part of the Ellesmere Island ice shelf has disappeared.
I observe that our climate is changing, partly because of unusual developments in the garden in January. I remember thinking the same thoughts a few years ago - in November.
It's a challenge to understand the thinking of people who are trying to minimize or dispute the significance of both scientific and anecdotal observations of global warming.
In a few weeks I will most probably scoff in deep irony at what I've written here, as the snow whirls around.
A photo of the Cotswolds in spring may seem more precious and promising then.
