I have very wise friends.
Recently, I posted a little something about how discouraged I was with the lateness of Spring and the lingering cold. I was worried our garden season would suffer, worried about the lack of green everywhere and I was overwhelmed with a feeling that this cold spell was just never going to end. Since then, we’ve had much more pleasant weather and we are finally feeling the warmth returning. Trees are budding, song birds are greeting us in the morning, evenings are warmer allowing us to enjoy the outdoors well after dinner has passed and we are all getting a lovely healthy sun-kissed glow.
Still, I wanted to take the advice of my dear friend Sally over at Wonky Patchwork and step back in time. This was her comment to me :
“Have you looked back on your blog a year ago to see where you were with the garden then? It could be reassuring – or then again, it could confirm you fears!”
So I decided to do it, and oh am I glad I did!
This was our yard a few days before Mother’s Day last year. Notice the definite lack of green in the trees?
This is our yard this morning : Much more alive and vibrant than last year. Our maples are filled with little pom-poms, the neighbor’s weeping willow sporting a light green halo.
This was Little Miss ready to leave for daycare on the back of daddy’s bike at 6h30 am on May 7th last year.
The kiddos at 8 am this past Monday. It was 14’C outside, they were wearing Crocs over light socks and sweatshirts over t-shirts. Not a glove, hat or scarf in sight.
This was the pergola at Van Den Hende Botanical Gardens on May 7th last year.
The pergola yesterday, pretty much the same as last year. (Although, I thought it was hilarious to find that I went to the Botanical Garden for the first time at almost the same date last year.)
My asparagus on May 10th last year.
My asparagus this morning : They have doubled in size and tripled in numbers.
So really, who would I be to complain? If anything, it seems like we are doing better than last year. So with this new resolve and a renewed sense of optimism, I’m ready for the season. We’ll be busy this week-end. It’s suppose to rain, but it’s also supposed to be very warm and that is my favorite combination for planting seeds. A perfect way to celebrate Mother’s Day if you ask me!
What were you blogging about on this day last year?
Family, Faith, Food and Fabric 
Happy Spring! It feels so good now that it’s finally here.
LikeLike
Oh yes, it truly does! Glad Spring has found us all. xo
LikeLike
On oublie, on oublie ! Je ne cesse de répéter à mon amoureux que ce printemps n’est pas pire que les autres. Tu as ma preuve ! Je pense que notre long hiver froid et sans beaucoup de soleil y est pour quelque chose dans notre désespoir collectif…
Je suis allée fouiner dans les archives de mon blogue pour voir où j’en étais l’an dernier (tu as piqué ma curiosité !). Quelle surprise de constater que je n’ai rien écrit d’avril à septembre ! Il faut croire que j’avais besoin d’une pause… Ou de soleil, comme c’est le cas présentement.
LikeLike
Hehe… “petit break” en effet. Et je suis d’accord. Je pense que le printemps me semble si long à aboutir parce que l’hiver a été tellement froid. E avant le beau temps! À demain soir…
LikeLike
Love looking at some of your pictures from a year ago! isn’t it great to look back and realize how far we’ve come? A year ago I was not yet blogging so I don’t have that to look back on but I definitely have my memory 🙂 have a wonderful happy Mother’s Day weekend!!
LikeLike
You’ll have to do something similar when your blogiversary comes around. It,s always fun to re-read some of our first posts.
Thank you! Happy Mother’s Day to you as well. xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a wise thing to do! I will have to keep that one in my back pocket, because it’s true, it always feels like the season is getting away from us.
Your asparagus looks great! I’m considering letting our little patch go. After four seasons it still isn’t producing very much, and it seems such an indulgence already for such a little garden space. If it were producing really well, then maybe, but oh what we could do with the sapce otherwise! We’ll see what this season brings.
LikeLike
Haha! Our aspapragus grows through our grass at the end of one of our beds. Our “patch” is about 2 ft square. Last year, we got about 40. I’m hoping to double that this year. Did you start them from seed or crown? I ask because it takes 5 years for seeds so you may want to hold of for just another year before giving up on them.
LikeLike
We started from crowns. Colorado is not known for very fertile soil. Despite amendments some things we just can get to take. Also, our soil is very silty, which we can balance when preparing beds, but not so much with asparagus. I am wondering if the soil is just a bit packed down at this point. Ah well, yes one more year, I think.
LikeLike
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
A little perspective is always a good thing 🙂
LikeLike
Yes it is… 🙂
LikeLike
What a great way to get perspective! Now that I’ve been blogging about a year, I can take that advice as well. Happy spring.
LikeLike
I hope you find happy memories. It was so much fun to take a sneak peek back. 🙂 Happy Spring to you as well. xo
LikeLike
Well that is definitely more spring like this year – what gorgeous weather you’ve been having!
LikeLike
We have and I couldn’t be more thankful. It got to a point today when my daughter asked for a break from the sun. LOL! We’ve had so little in the way of a transition that they are exhausted. They went from an hour or 2 of outdoor time to spending entire days out from morning til night. They are beat. I couldn’t be happier.
LikeLike
Looking back is so helpful, isn’t it? Love the comparisons, and it looks like things are moving along more than you though!
LikeLike
It really Feels like we keep jumping from late winter to early summer back down to late winter. We have rain today and such a chill in the air, Yesterday, the kids were running through the sprinklers. Feels like Mother Nature is a bit undecided. I’m sure she’ll figure it out soon enough. 🙂
LikeLike
I do love being described as a ‘wise friend’, thank you! And I’m so glad this year compares favourably with last, the difference in the green on the trees in particular is really quite startling. I am sure you will have a wonderfully productive garden this year. And thank you for your kind comments over at my place too, the ‘net’ is simply machine stitching in white, kind of quilting really. I just went over the lines with, I think, 4 lines (but it could be 3!) of stitching rather than the usual 1, to make it really stand out, it was very straightforward and not massively time consuming since it’s only a small area. Hope that helps, but if not give another shout. Enjoy your Mothers’ Day weekend, hope you get lots of lovely, gardening time, and at least a little bit spoilt in other ways too X
LikeLike
Thank you for that, I’ll let my mom-in-law know. And yes… so much wisdom and generosity of spirit and heart from all you amazing mamas… I’m blessed to have met you all. xo
LikeLike
Looking back gives us a different perspective…it lets us see how far we have come. How far our gardens, our children, our relationship have evolved, matured and settled into the rhythm they are meant to be.
Be patient Yanic…the garden grows at its own pace. :0) mari
LikeLike
Thank you Mari… We actually spent the day planting today, it felt wonderful. We will be getting much needed rain over the next few days (planting in the rain is my favorite… You don’t have to worry about drowning your seeds). I know our gardens will do amazingly. Happy Mother’s Day! xo
LikeLike
And to you Yanic :0) mari
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love the comparisons. We are blessed too–although the snow is once again piling up. Spring WILL come! 🙂
LikeLike
Oh my, I’m so sorry… Is this normal for your area? I’m thinking the mountains are more at risk, but still. Seems late still. I really do hope you get to enjoy some nice Spring time weather soon. xox
LikeLike
It is great to see your kids enjoying the warmer weather! And asparagus is really progressing nicely. That is really a great advice. Sometimes we get so consumed by our wishes and goals, that we forget how far we’ve come. It was fun to find the post that went up around this time last year. For me, about quick fix diets.
LikeLike
How fun, I might have to check that one out, I may have missed it cause it doesn’t ring a bell. We will actually be eating our first asparagus tonight. I couldn’t help but snap a little one and eat it raw yesterday. Such a burst of flavor. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is probably going to sound silly, but: you can eat raw asparagus? A few weeks ago, we saw it in the supermarket and started wondering could we eat it raw, but without an answer, we skipped on it. Now we know! Thanks! 🙂
LikeLike
I don’t know how good they would be at the grocery store, but freshly picked or small enough, I’m sure you’d like it. What my mom does when the skin is too tough is to gently peel them, like a carrot. From the head down. Keep the bud of course (it’s the best part!). We eat them with a light dressing all the time. Drizzling the dressing on top a few hours before eating them will soften them as well. You can even pickle asparagus. They are really good. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the ideas and suggestions! Next time I find them, I’m gonna give them a try 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
OMG Asparagus. I need to plant asparagus. What good advice she gave you. Looks like things are actually better this year!
LikeLike
Asparagus take patience. If you want some, buy crowns! We started ours from seed at first, my GOD that was long. LOL! Things are much better this year. We just need the weather to regulate. I’M sure we’ll get there. 🙂
LikeLike