Not an idiot.

I'll explain. Okay, way back in October, we hosted our housewarming. Louis' aunt and uncle gave us a great gift--tulip and hyacinth bulbs (thanks, Paula and Bob!). And it happened to be the perfect time of year for planting. We knew even back then that our spring flowers would be welcome when warm weather came back around, but we could never have imagined the epic first winter in our home.

I mentioned this to friend, colleague, and avid gardener, Kim. He said he'd let me borrow a tool that would help planting, since the bulbs needed to be deep in the ground. Well, I sort of forgot about this offer and when this twisted, metal rod showed up on our back porch one day, I wondered what it was. Then it clicked. Well, not completely....

Okay, so this is the tool (I now know it's called a garden auger). Louis and I struggled with it. It hurt our hands and we couldn't figure out how to use it to dig into the ground. So we gave up and used a garden trowel.

Here's where I felt like an idiot (for the first time): Kim explained that the auger is meant to be attached to a drill. Ohhhh. Well, that certainly would have made things much easier.

And about a week ago, spring finally showed her face in Minnesota. The snow all finally melted away (leaving a moldy ground beneath), and plenty of sprigs of green began popping up. Kim talked about his tulips coming up. But...mine weren't up. I started to have self-doubt. I was feeling a little embarrassed, you see. Did I really screw up planting tulips? Sorry, Mom, I didn't inherit your green thumb.

I checked the side of the fence every day after work last week. Nothing. I was out of town all last weekend. DC has its fair share of flowers and greenery. But not my backyard.

But today, today was beautiful. Temperatures soared into the sixties, and as usual, I checked the fence. In the morning I saw some green, but it was mostly weeds. But alas! My eye was struck by this when I arrived home after work:

I dare say that is a thick tulip leaf springing forth! I am not an idiot! I can plant tulips!
And there were more, though they were masked by dead leaves and weeds (how come the weeds can grow so quickly?).

You don't do yardwork in boots and a skirt?

Look at all those happy tulips in a row. I mean, if I'm this excited for the leaves, imagine my delight when the flowers pop out. (Did I mention it was a long winter?)

More budding beauties!

The rhubarb has shot up in the garden!

I see a lot of yardwork in the very near future. Mom, feel free to head on up to lend a hand. ;)

Ah, spring. You have officially become my new favorite season. Even with your fickle-ness, I know warmer days are ahead. And I can't bring myself to believe Friday will be 40 degrees with rain/snow. Not possible. Please don't hurt my tulips, Mother Nature!