JoAnne Skelly: In like a lion

As I write this on Leap Day, I am waiting for the big blizzard to arrive. The National Weather Service is warning to expect six to 10 feet of snow above 7,000 feet and one to two feet here on the west side of Washoe Valley.

They are calling for winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts over 75 to 80 mph here in the valley and 115 mph over the Sierra ridges.

In contrast, yesterday was a glorious sunny day that we spent walking the path at Sand Harbor; today it is too windy and rainy to go outside. A couple of weeks ago I felt that spring was just around the corner.

Today I’m hoping that these storms won’t knock the power out for five days like last year! And even though the weather outside is frightful, my hopes for spring can’t be completely stifled. Not with the daffodils showing nubbins of green growth poking up out of the soil. I went around the yard and put sticks around the bundles of bulbs to prevent my husband and myself from stepping on their fragile new growing tips.

I have seen a few leaves of grape hyacinth, which will eventually have little purple flowers, also starting to grow. The birds are breeding or at least they are chasing each other all over the yard. I see woodpeckers boring nesting holes in the old trees and the bluebirds have rediscovered their nesting box.

I saw a pod of pelicans soaring yesterday at Tahoe. I hope everyone hangs on through the storms and snow load. I put the rain gauge out this morning to track precipitation amounts. However, I will have to bring it in when the temperature drops below freezing.

Still, it looks as if this storm will water the trees everywhere, which of course is a good thing as long as creeks don’t break their banks. My gardening activities after the storm will probably involve picking up downed limbs and hundreds of twigs.

And, although I hope not, I may have to prune and repair storm-damaged trees or shrubs. I will probably look for the bird feeder in the next county along with the trash cans! You will be reading this almost a week after the first round of storms moves through the area.

We may be getting even more rain as you read this. However, being Nevada, wait five minutes. It is bound to change.

JoAnne Skelly is Associate Professor & Extension Educator Emerita at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.