Hepatica

Earth Day is celebrated April 22 and Arbor Day is usually the last Friday in April.  Close enough we should probably combine them into Environment Week (or something a bit catchier).   To celebrate I planted Yggdrasil.   Yggdrasil is the white spruce I bought last summer from a nursery.  It served as my Christmas tree and now is ready to take it's place as a sound/wind barrier planted in a row with Yggdrasil Sr., Yggdrasil Jr., and Yggdrasil III.  Arbor Day was cold and rainy so I planted it today.  Threw my square nosed shovel, a bag of potting soil, kite string, and a tape measure in the back of Jormungandr.  Yggdrasil sat up front w/ me and we drove out by the road.   I'd mowed a strip of tall grass earlier in the week to extend the tree line.   The kite string was to make sure the new tree would be in line w/ the others but that was easy to just eye ball.  The tape measure showed 19 feet between trees (interesting number).  I found my spot and dug a hole about twice the size of the root ball.  Between the frost going out and the rains yesterday, it was easy digging.   Filled the hole w/ enough potting soil to bring the tree trunk level w/ the surrounding ground.  Slid the tree out of it's bucket, roughed up the root ball, plopped it in the hole, and checked again that it looked to be in-line w/ the others before back-filling and patting everything down.   Yggdrasil has new bright green needles while it's predecessors are just putting on buds. Wondered about that until I realized it had spent a pampered winter in Mjolnir's workshop at 45 degrees w/ regular waterings while the others were out in the cold.  Still, think the little tree will be happy now that I've 'set it free'.