A Sunny Morning

Sprouts and Flowers

Our sprouts are getting bigger, there are dandelions in our yard, and while on a Sunday afternoon hike in the woods we found lots of Spring flowers.  We're getting there folks.

Sprouting tomatoes (foreground) and squash (background)

Dandelion 

Spring Beauties

Dutchman's Breeches

Dogtooth Violet/Trout Lily

I've Got A New Pet

First it looks like this.

And after a bit of mixing and rising and baking it looks like this.

It lives in the refrigerator mostly and eats flour.  No walks, or picking up of poop with this one.  It is called "The Beast" in our house.  And, boy, does it ever taste good!

We got the sourdough starter from my mom, who works in a bakery.  The starer has been alive for years, around 20 I'm thinking.  Though a dog seems like a fun idea sometimes, and we may get there at some point in our lives, this is a great pet for us right now.

But Maybe That Watched Pot Does Sprout!!

Only 3 days, THREE DAYS, after starting our seeds we've got babies!!  The Tatsoi, Chinese Asters and Chocolate Peppers have sprouted.

Chinese Aster

Chocolate Pepper

A Watched Pot...

...never sprouts.  But mannnnn, is it fun to peek at.  A lot.  Over and Over.

Our pile of seed packets followed my friend and I, and her little boy, to the back yard for some dirt and digging and discovering, rediscovering, how incredible seeds look.  And just how satisfying it is to have your hands dirty from getting them in their little pots and going. 

Planting Day!

!

back yard + seeds + nice spring morning = happy.

Squash(2 winter, 1 zucchini).  Water Melon.  Tomatoes (4 kinds).

Flowers.  Tatsoi.  Chocolate Peppers.

Some crazy cool Buff Daisy seeds.

Books and Seeds and Gloves!  Oh MY!

Under the grow lights and ready to go(grow - hee hee)!

Feels Like 18

It feels like 18 degrees.  Oh March.  Sigh.  This isn't water flowing out of the hose.  It is water FROZEN in the hose and waiting to melt in the sunshine.


Because March is tromping out like a lion and no, I am no longer bouncing around barefoot in the yard, I've checked off a few other inside gardeny to dos.

Before doing any digging, or tilling, or sod ripping, etc in your yard it is best to call and get the yard marked for lines you wouldn't want to hit while getting it ready for your yarden.  I dialed 811 which is a call before you dig number.  I had the fortune of talking with an actual person who asked me several questions - like what we were planning to do (garden), where in the yard we needed it marked (the whole thing, front, back and side yards) and if we would be doing this all within the next 14 days (yes, hopefully).  She gave me a dig numer and said they would all be out within the next 48hrs from my call to mark the yard.  As you can see we have 3 different markings.  AT&T, MidAmerican Energy, and the city.

I need to now figure out what "OK" means with a flag in it.  At least the energy company spray painted lines, so I know not to get crazy within 18" of where they marked.  But what the hell does "OK" mean?  Okay if you don't dig right here, or okay, we've marked your yard?  I'll be giving them a ring.

The good news is that with the chill, the record breaking flooding we were supposed to be getting has slowed down and decreased in intensity, at least for now.  The soil also is wet enough it has protected the sprouts in the raised bed, and that's wonderful.

And sunshine, though it is still cold cold cold out, the sun is keeping the cold frame warm and our sprouts are getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

Happy Spring

These babies (left) are coming up in our raised bed.  This last week has been warmer and we had rain over the weekend so our seeds are sprouting!  Our greens are growing - and I'm betting these are spinach, but I'll have to wait till they get their true leaves to be sure.  I planted, but didn't jot down what got planted where (some might see this as a cardinal sin of gardening, not writing down EVERYTHING, but ehh, I'm not worried).

And these little lovelies (below) are getting taller and stronger in our cold frame.  It's so exciting to see the ground springing to life this first day of SPRING.  I was walking around BAREFOOT today, and my feet were so happy to be touching the grass, which is getting greener, and will soon be getting ripped up (at least some of it) to make room for more garden beds.

The tulips (right) are much bigger than last week, and we have a daffodil that has emerged as well.  There's just one right now, but hopefully we'll see more soon.  We must have planted them a little deeper than they should have been planted last fall.

And here are our strawberries greening up again in the raised bed.  It's their second year so we should have a decent crop, or least enough for a couple of bowls of ice cream!  That's the rain barrel in the background, which always fills up so much faster than I think it will.

And then there's my Meyer Lemon Tree - it has new leaves by leaps and bounds and we should see some lemons in 5 months or so!

And yes, I did follow my own advice with garden decision making and planning.  I sat down on the floor with a friend last week and we plowed through seed catalogs and found veggies and herbs that we loved and names we were excited about.  We should have seeds in the next week, give or take.