The first daffodils are waking up and showing us their pretty yellow, white, and pink faces, and if you look very closely, you will see tiny buds on certain deciduous trees that have been sleeping through the winter.

Like me, you may be a little cautious about pruning and planting too early, although I know some brave souls who have already begun to march forward (pun intended) with early springtime gardening tasks. I’m not saying that I know better than other gardeners, but I remember some substantial snowstorms in past Februarys, so I am tackling spring clean-up at a moderate pace.

If you aren’t ready to dive into pruning and setting out new plants, but you want to enjoy the pleasant days outdoors, look around your property for other chores you can accomplish now that might get pushed aside in a few weeks.

I mentioned several weeks ago that we had removed our granddaughter’s old playhouse, which sat nestled under some mature trees next to the garage. Jim and I decided to bu...