We went away for a brief break this weekend. We came home to find that it had rained, and has been above average, temperature-wise (72 degrees yesterday afternoon!). The grass needs mowing again, but other plant growth is apparent. Violets and grape hyacinth have popped their flowers up above the grass line. Later-blooming tulips have buds, and the hosta have decided to stick their heads up as well. Time for deer deterrents.
Speaking of wildlife, we have noticed that the starlings are no longer raiding our feeders. We surmise that the spate of very cold/icy weather in March made scavenging difficult for them. We actually have seen no more than one or two this month. The jays, chickadees, cardinals, house finches, sparrows and other (previously mentioned) species have dominance at the two feeders we have left up (seed only). They are much more polite, and we will be able to finish up the remaining seeds in the storage container.
The sprouted potatoes I planted have not indicated they are growing, so I will get some seed potatoes today to replace them. I will top them with a (broken up) square bale of straw to give more insulation.
April becomes a busy time for gardeners, and I am getting ready for our Master Gardener annual plant sale. We weren't able to conduct the sale last year, due to COVID-19. This year we are doing online ordering, and there will be four (4) sale dates instead of one. There will also be two pick up locations (instead of one), so it will be 'all hands on deck" to accomplish this activity. I usually have some perennials to thin out (garden phlox, hosta, and redbud trees), so it's easy to contribute to the cause.