Heat wave

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Judging from the response I got from my mention in the Editor’s note last week, I guess I’m not the only person who’s noticed how unusually plump the buds are on certain fruit trees for this early in the year. Perhaps even more noteworthy is the sap I’ve noticed leaking near the top of a cherry tree I planted last year.

It’s funny how this unseasonably warm weather causes an instinctual reaction within us “higher” life forms. I’ll bet I wasn’t the only person who found him- or herself out in the yard on Saturday. I removed a bunch of the dead growth left over from last year’s growing season from a couple of gardens in my front yard—this is the type of behavior I generally wouldn’t start to exhibit until mid-March or even later.

On the other hand, maybe it was something else that motivated me. As I was sitting on the porch step, basking in the sunlight, wearing only jeans and a T-shirt, I noticed three crocuses (crocci?) blooming in my herb garden. I don’t keep a record on when the crocuses bloom—they’re just kind of eye candy to help me survive the long nights, short days at the end of the winter season. You can believe me when I say I can’t wait for March 8, when daylight saving time begins. I’m truly a solar-powered organism.

While we’re on the subject, I should mention with all the growth, it’s pretty evident to me that certain plants are coming out of dormancy. If you haven’t been as good about watering as you should have been this dry winter, you might want to get the hose out and make sure all your young trees and shrubs have a bit of moisture. I’m worried that a few of my new ones didn’t make it through the winter. We’ll see.

I’m tempted to throw some seeds on the ground, maybe some spinach or lettuce or something, just in case we are seeing an honest-to-goodness early spring. I wouldn’t put any money on continued warmth, though.