Looky what I saw in Feb!

Ok , so I was outside putting together a slow feeder for my hay on Monday when I nearly stepped on one of these.
I wouldn't have been terribly surprised if I were still living in the south to see one in February, but in the northeast in Feb?? Our average annual last frost is still 2 1/2 months away.
I also have crocus in bloom, daffodils up and the maple trees are actually starting to unfurl some leaves. I'm afraid the orchard is going to start budding up and them Whammo! Winter might actually arrive this year.
While it may be good that the pastures are starting to green up, I'm concerned about what this wacky weather is going to do to the garden and fruits.
Oh, and the horses are staring to really shed too.

I planted lettuce, beets, onions, scallions, spinach, carrots and radishes last week, not under cover, The peepers are so loud today I could hardly work outside. Do you think it is going to be an early spring?

Hah, planting stuff! I wish, under 2 feet of snow & the ground is frozen. Enjoy your bugs & plants, I am so jealous!

Ditto! I wish I could start planting my roses and cucumbers. :(

I take it a peeper is a type of insect? Or is it a bird?

I'd love to live somewhere that insects are audible. We hear the buzzing of wings but that's about it. Sometimes in summer, very rarely you can hear the barely audible flicking noise of tiny grasshoppers. But they don't come every year. I used to think it was completely normal and only really tropical places had noisy insects, but apparently even cold places like taigas have noisy insects in summer and the country I live in is an exception.

I saw midges over the past few days (not the same as the American midges, ours are tiny and their bites are inconsequential to most people) a sign that it's starting to get warmer. Hawthorns are producing leaves in some places and I have spotted some flowers beginning to break out from their buds.

I heard Robins the other day which is generally considered to be a sign of Spring in this area. The gnats have been out and biting too, but the caterpillar is what surprised me.
Taffy, I also most tempted fate and did some planting as well, but since our Feb average highs are usually 20 degrees (instead of 50) and March is known for being cold and nasty, as well as getting 1 or 2 big winter events in April, I decided to wait just a wee bit longer.... maybe mid March.
Lest I have to be out in the snow trying in vain to protect everything from frost and freezing. My garden is just too big.

No peepers here yet. No robins. But the daffodils are shooting up.

And to whoever asked...peepers are tiny frogs that peep. Lol

Hmmmpff, walk outside down here and you get swarmed by mosquitos!! Lol

[QUOTE=Beechlgz;1385949]I take it a peeper is a type of insect? Or is it a bird?

QUOTE]


Peepers are little frogs. They "PEEP" early in the spring and when it is going to rain. Sometimes they get so loud you cannot think.

But I love them, it is a first sign of spring.

Ah. We don't get any audible frogs/toads here either, so I wouldn't have known that.