And we thought winter was over...

Just goes to show, even the best of the frost prediction plants can be wrong...

Last week the mesquite and desert willows budded out, signaling the last frost of the year. Today a one to two inch layer of sleet and hail looks like snow on the ground. Nearly 24 hours of freezing temperatures has caused sever damage.

A couple of friends have reported an almost total loss of their fruit, and garden devastation where cold frames were not in place. All of the delays with rearranging our own gardens has proved a blessing in disguise... The only apparent damage I have is to my herbs, so far.

It will be a couple of days before the verdict will be in on the young trees we planted. They are bent over with a coating of ice, but nothing is actually broken.

Snakebite!

My delight with the arrival of spring has been dampened by the timely, yet unfortunate reminder of one of the perils of this time of year. Rattlesnakes! As the days grow warm, the snakes become active and the woodpile and stands of wildflowers and new growth are inviting hunting and sunning grounds.

It is easy to forget to be watchful and the grandchildren must be constantly reminded that playing in Papaw’s cool piles of workshop materials or picking the abundant wildflowers must be done with alert eyes and ears. I have seemed a nuisance to them with my almost constant warnings, but I suspect that will not be so necessary now. We have all had a hard reminder.

Seven days ago, our young tomcat went hunting. Two days later he came staggering in the door with scratches across his face and an abscess on the inside of his left front leg. A quick examination told the tale. He had been in a fight with a large rattlesnake. I have seen this before and there was no mistaking the wound. What I could not know is how much venom he’d received or how bad it would get since there was no way to really tell when he’d been bitten.

To make a long story short, he almost died. By day four, the scratches on his head proved to be places where venomous fangs dragged across skin. They abscessed and broke open. The flesh, around the two entry points on the leg, has opened and created a large, gaping wound. His leg seems to be functional, which is a miracle considering the bite location. An inch higher and he would have probably been dead before he could make it to the house.

Though our beloved Merlin will bear horrific scars and have a long convalescence, he may have saved us, or one of the grandchildren, from getting bit. We will now be extra alert to our unwelcome guest and take steps to make sure the areas of activity are not so enticing as a snake residence. If found, and we will be conducting a search, the snake will be caught and taken several miles away for release.

It's Official! Spring Has Arrived!

In the mountains of Southwest Texas, the last word on the arrival of spring rests with the mesquite. Until it puts on buds, another freeze is to be expected... No ifs, ands or buts about it.

I have been antsy to get more seed in the ground, but daily checks found no green at all. Sure enough, we had a heavy frost a couple of nights ago and today my venerable old mesquite had bright, tender new growth! I had to take a photo of the largest bud I could find just to celebrate.