Wow, what great weather we had in Pa. for Easter weekend! I got a lot of much-needed yardwork done, and also took the time to pick three vases full of flowers.

I have purple, white, light pink, hot pink, yellow, and lavender hyacinths (gifts from Easter’s past that I planted), daffodils, and a huge vase of forsythea. I also have a beautiful carpet of purple phlox that is blooming in waves. Still waiting for lilacs and azealas to burst.

One job I do every spring is rake the dead leaves from an old stone wall that runs right on the tree line of the woods. I always plan to do it before we have too many sunny days so I don’t run into snakes, but it never works out that way. This year was no exception — a three-foot black snake ended up in the pile of leaves I was raking, but I saw him in time to scoot him on his way.

I decided the stone wall looked kind of bare all raked clean, so I planted some daffodil bulbs. I also planted some poppies, which will give me color into the summer.

I have two big projects that I’d like to get done in April: Painting the roof of one shed, and tearing down another one. I’ll keep you posted!

Jessica James