This hardly bears mentioning, but it was a hard winter for a lot of people, and definitely a rough winter for their gardens.

Oh, I’m still hopeful that the deep freezes we had will spell doom for some of the baddest and most annoying bugs (stinkbugs, squash vine borers, I’m looking at you), but that remains to be seen. I’m hopeful but not terribly optimistic.

What can be investigated right now, however, is the price some of the trees and shrubs in the yard paid to endure those Arctic temperatures.