Pip our newest addition, is of course a Border Collie puppy. Her lineage includes Scottish and Irish parents.

She has already impressed us with her easy going yey energized personality.

Pip has already found the greenhouse to be one of her favorite places

After a bust period of collecting various items to chew on, Pip settles down for a nap.

One of the most amazing traits of Border Collies is their ability to just watch, and I'm assuming learn.

Some tiny little twig makes a perfect toy for a tiny pup.

More pictures to come!

The field in late April

The soil has dried out nicely after all the snow.

Finally with snow melted (mostly), we can begin to work the beds. The beds will be mostly left alone as the

daylilies begin to put up their shoots. We don't clean up much of the foliage, but just work a lot of it into the soil when we get into the beds

to dig and rototill.

The first rototill of the garden reveals some good rich soil, from years of adding compost. We frequently

use plastic as a mulch as it helps save time with weeds and weeding.

Daylily shoots in the Spring

Daylily shoots appear quite early in the spring, consequently they sometimes get damaged by frost on the tips or

portions of the emerging leaves.

These shoots look undamaged by frost. One reason may be the retention of the foliage, as it adds a bit

of insulation around the leaves.

Hemerocallis fulva (The Orange Roadside Daylily) is usually quite frost tolerant and as such the shoots come up fast and vigorously

They are easily identified by the loose non-clump forming stand they produce.

Here is a close up example of frost damage to Buttered Popcorn. The tips are shriveled and 

mishapen.

While not as badly damaged the peculiar distortion of the tips is evidence of frost damage.

Rest assured though that all these daylilies will grow on to produce a magnificent show in

mid Summer. It's just the price they pay for being so quick to sprout in the spring.