a few signs of spring

Since last night dropped below 30 overnight and there were a few snowflakes in the air yesterday I figured it was time to look for some signs of spring.  The grass is mostly green and looks to be starting to grow a bit and the big trees are starting to leaf out but what about the orchard?  Yep, spring is there too.  I took a picture of all the fruit trees and realized that they all kind of look the same.  I started out trying to identify each but have given up on that.  We have two apples, two plums and two pears and they are all getting leaf buds.  Yay! I should have uploaded each picture as I took it so that I can remember which is which but no such luck. 

Last year I planted four sand cherries, two elderberries and a gooseberry.  My thinking is if they make it through the first winter and come back in the spring the chances of survival are pretty good.  I don't have any empirical data to back that up but it seems reasonable to me.  So, I am looking at the four sand cherries and they all have some leaf buds.  The gooseberry has none yet and one of the two elderberries have very tiny buds so I am hoping that it is just early and that with time they will come.  No sign of the asparagus yet or the rhubarb.  Tonight the low is expected to get down to 23 but then the rest of the 10 day forecast is above freezing.  The salad greens are pretty much done in the greenhouse, just too warm but the timing is good because as the tubs are emptied the space is taken up but the plant starts for the spring garden.