Good morning,
Hoping the weather is warm enough when I get home from work today to do a bit of raking and cleanup.

I too am having that urge to get out there and clean up some of that dead winter stuff. I will cut back some of the deadgrowth from the natives. The dog fennel has fallen and is blocking the pathways, so they will be the first to go. They all come back from the root stock anyway.

I am also feeling the urge to hack down the dead growth on the ornamental grasses, but just not sure if I will have the energy to take that on today. There's a lot of them and they are a lot of work to prune.

There is so much to do to get ready for spring and only me this year to badger into doing it.

I have spent minimal time looking out there at the winter waste land this year, but enough to see it's dismal. I was looking for a picture to post this morning and ran across some of the gardens from last summer. Such a big difference in the jungle that was.

The good thing, come next summer, it will be better than ever.

Molly

Molly,
If it's any consolation, my wheelbarrow, which is full with rainwater right now, was crowded the past 2 days with red breasted robins taking a rest on their journey back north. If you haven't seen any yet, you should soon. I see a bunch of my plants making a comeback so have heart.

I think I did see a fat robin two days ago. When I pulled up to the house, I saw a fat bird sitting on the branch of a turkey oak. I stared real hard trying to figure out what? Then it flew off. But I did see a lot of the kind of red robins have.

Yesterday I saw a pilated woodpecker fly up and away from the dog's yard. They live out in the area, but not on my place since I don't have any hollow dead trees..

The target is 3/15, last average frost date!!!!!!

MollyMc said:
I don't have any hollow dead trees..

Don't jinx yourself.

I'm hopeing its a lot sooner than that. Fertilizing the yard this weekend. On "normal" years, I usually do it on feb. 15th. I do smaller feedings 6-8 times a year.

Jim,

My last average frost date is based on zone 8b. I believe you are in 9a which should have an earlier date.

Jan, I don't have any dead hollow trees because as soon as the dead fall starts coming down, I take the tree down. Can't have any dead trees falling on my furbabies.......or on my cars. The turkey oaks seem to have the shortest lifespan of the big trees here, 20-30 years and many of them didn't come down in the "clearing" of the property.

Seems like when the tree gets a trunk diameter of about 12-18 inches, it starts to die from the top down.

But there are still a lot of parcels out here that are not human occupied, and that State preserve out behind me allows for the wildlife to habitate.

Morning Molly, Jim and Jan
I had a woodpecker out on one of my Live Oaks in front of my house.
Hopefully if it falls it will go to the street.
I know they have been here at least 70 years.
The tree I detest is the Water Oak in the back yard.
When those hard round acorns fall, it's like walking on marbles.

My neighbor has a huge water oak and it sends up seedings everyway. When it is mowed it is like walking on blunt toothpicks. When I put my concrete driveway in, I made sure it went almost all the way to the property line. Rather concrete than a million sticks.

I got a $3,000 estimate on it's removal.
When I get the money the tree is out of here.

Tag, is the tree growing into the power lines? If so, it would seem you could call the power company and they would at least trim it away from the lines. FP&L did that down south all the time.

I know Jeremy had that big tree over at his place, and I know it was growing around the lines.

Do yall have FP&L?

Molly

He actually got a settlement from the city for one that fell in his yard.
We have JEA.
They are 'helping' the city/state with their survey for re-doing Tallulah.
Those Live trees belong to the state of Florida.
The Water Oak is entirely on my property and doesn't come close to anything but me and mine.
I will just bite the bullet and get it taken down.
Jan your redecoration of this Cubit is good.

Hi ya'll....still exploring...my brain is in "confussed mode". I can turn the conputer on and almost always turn it off the "right way". Been really nice here for two/three days. Actually got a few minutes of snow...last week?? Calling for below freezing again this comming up week BUT on the happy side I have wild violets blooming in the yard!

Ginger it's a confused winter.
Lucky you and the wild violets.

Good morning all!

Good morning Marianne.

Hi y'all Our water oak died, it is half cut down.

Here is a picture I took out at the Jacksonville Arboretum this morning..

Sandy

How much $ Sandy?

The park is free. Opens at 8am right now, may open earlier when it get's hot.

If you go, you will find the Azalea on the Live oak trail, go past the sign that tells you not to go on the new trail that they are building. It is on the left. Look closely as it is just starting to bloom
There is a lot of fungus and mosses, right now and the Golden Clubs are starting to come back.

Sandy

Get some more pictures at the Jacksonville Arboretum.

Sandy