The irises are poking up through the ground, as are the day lilies.  The violets are greening, as is the grass.  Buds are forming on the trees.  The chives are going great guns.  I planted two varieties of onions a couple of days ago.  I was going to plant them in one bed, but when I dug down, I discovered some shoots trying to make their way to the surface.  I moved to a different bed and made short work of the planting task.  All I can tell you about the onions is that one variety was in bulb form and the other was already sprouted.  (Some gardener I am!)  I bought them at the Farmer’s Market last Saturday, when it was blustery and cold.  Whoosh!  There goes Piglet!

I haven’t planted the sage and rosemary plants I bought because the weather has been so iffy, meaning it hasn’t stayed consistently warm.  Temperatures this spring in Minnesota have been running below average.  The weatherman said that this is because of La Niña.  I’m old enough to remember a time before we explained weather patterns by calling upon La Niña and its counterpart, El Niño.  When I first heard the term El Niño, during the weather report on the news of course, it was this big deal, something that was supposed to be rare and only happen every so many years.  Now we hear about the effects of one or the other constantly.  What gives?

Here’s a nice explanation of the two from NOAA.