Forget the Groundhog!

Here's a little quiz for you: What do the sprouts in the above photos have to do with the black bear prowling around a car?

The answer: the crazy weather has made them all a little nuts!

The top photo is of some of my tulips--yes, you read that correctly, tulips, which apparently have decided that it is warm enough for them to grow about six inches out of the ground and look for all the world like they are ready to bloom. Except that it is only the leaves which have surfaced--nice, shiny green leaves--and no buds. And it is only in one location, which either means the squirrels have carried off the majority of my tulip bulbs or these are in a particularly well sheltered spot.

The second is of my daffodils, and these are all coming up pretty uniformly. They are about three inches high and it is currently the first week in February, when last year, they were buried under a mountain of snow.

Just saying.

And the bear? Well, according to Fox News black bears have been awakened from their hibernations by the warm weather and been spotted rummaging through trash cans in fairly suburban neighborhoods, looking for something to eat.

And while you may not be able to see them, mosquitos and ticks are planning to make the summer of 2012 a blood fest. There just hasn't been enough really cold weather, for sustained periods of time, to kill off the breeding population of either species. Fleas are close behind.

So keep up that flea and tick preventative even though it is February and consider starting some citronella seeds. After all, it just may be warm enough to transplant those seedlings outside pretty soon.