Upgrades

Upgrade #1: I got a new Sneebor garden trowel for Christmas (yes, I picked it out and ordered it myself).  These tools are amazing: strong, sharp and a pleasure to use.  I got a Sneebor rock garden trowel last summer and it quickly became indispensable to me.  I'm going to give away all of the other cheap trowels that I've amassed over the years.

Upgrade #2: I rebuilt one of the molds that I use to cast the large rectangular hypertufa troughs with feet.  The old mold was at least 6 years old and well past the end of its life.  I kept using it last summer but ran ratchet straps around it in case it failed.  This one is stronger and better designed than its predecessors.  I'd like to try it out next weekend.  Never mind the arrows, by the way. I reused lumber from an old crate.  The inside mold is kind of like a magic box; it folds in on itself for easy removal.

Upgrade #3: More crocuses.  I've been relentlessly dividing and transplanting my Tommy crocuses over the last couple years.  I've got a few big patches going now; a detail of one is above.

The bees were all over them today.  Their buzzing was so loud that I couldn't place the sound at first.  I forget every year that the bees are out as early as the first flowers.