Trees Budding. Observing signs in nature [Garden]

With Winter starting to thaw, #buds on trees are ripening. In this photo, the ornamental #pear tree is full of buds on its naturally curvaceous branches.

When it is a sunny day, I take that as my cue to inspect the yard a bit and find out if anything is amiss. A few unexpected things I am always expecting to find on a typical day like this.

A few branches cast away from the Serviceberry tree high above are decorating the area.

Mostly I find holes where squirrels had dug deep holes through the fluffy soil, and flicked it out to the sides.

In the winter, I let clover grow in the beds and let it spread. This year I have enough growing that I can choose to keep it as a low cover crop, or turn it into a green manure by cutting it all back and mix it into the beds.

Some of the plant tags were strewn about on the ground. This pot above used to have Corsican mint growing... used to. The other pot I think is where I harvested out some ginger root.

One of my pots was tipped over upside-down on the ground, because it was pushed off the deck. It was growing a wildflower called #Chicory that won't sprout for another year if I have to start over again from seeds. Fortunately, the green little shoots were still buried inside the pot. The screen I wired over it prevented the squirrel from digging them out. Good foresight on my part!

#Crocus flowers are continuing to bud. This is very gratifying! Instead of waiting an entire year for these flower, I only had to wait a few weeks after planting it.

My third grow bed/bag is still growing three #brusselssprouts plants. I might wait another week or two before I finish the final harvest on these. The compost bucket in front was overflowing the brim with old leaves from the Brussels Sprouts, and now it has sunk down about three inches. That's good! It means the slugs and bugs are working their mojo in there. Underneath, I have another bucket that catches all the fresh and old compost juices that trickles out through a small crack. In the spring I'm likely to get mutant tomatoes growing out from the goop of the top bucket.

If I get an X-Plant with godly powers, like the ability to communicate with me telepathically, I promise you my steem friends, you will the be the first to know.

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Bonus Photo!

Finally I took a curve around the house to look in the garage. This is where I have been keeping a small basin filled with mucky water. I'm afraid the #waterlily I was growing in it might have died. My parents dumped all of the water out it at one point, and I discovered this about ten days later to my shocking surprise. Earlier they confessed they were worried the pine needles from the Christmas tree might have killed the plant. No big deal I said. They neglected to tell me they also dumped out the water!

Were they trying to kill the plant? I always feel like they are trying to get me to fail and give up gardening.

Hmmmm

After adding fresh water, I decided to keep it in the garage anyways. You never know what might happen in the spring.

I don't believe it! It's alive!

No, not the ugly plastic floating fake flower. Look in the middle.

New leaf sprouts are emerging from the root ball. That means I'll be able to enjoy watching birds play on the lily pads again this year. Thank goodness. This thing is a bird and wildlife magnet.

In my next garden update I will show you the greater war I am waging with my mother. Flowers vs. Fruit. Who will win?