Spring Gardening

The Willamette Valley can be a grey place.  For most of the year the entire valley is cloud-covered and it rains frequently.  So when spring time comes around, and the sun begins to shine, I love to get out in my garden, see what's happening, and give it some much needed attention.

Last Saturday was just such a day.  The strawberry and tulip starts above were added to beds that were established a few years ago.  And I recently received several seed packs as gifts:

Some seeds went directly into beds, and others I planted in trays.  It was a great pleasure to be outside in my garden after the long winter.  Another of my favorite activities when I am in my backyard is to observe things like birds, worms, or some kind of bug.  On this day I found that some old cut logs have this beautiful shelf fungus growing on them:

Do you like to garden?  What are some interesting natural phenomenon that you've observed in your garden?