The Season Begins

The non-event winter and early, early spring are conspiring to make me feel behind.  I am not fond of cold weather, but winter does keep you inside where you might, perhaps, clean out closets or the pantry or the freezer.  There are a dozen inside chores that simply did not get done this winter-that-never-was because it was just too nice outside.  In fact the weather was so inspiring that I started too many projects: the new herb bed (about 3/4 ready), a place for a small three sisters garden down by the barn (about 1/4 ready), more raised beds by the fence (started in my head only)...to name a few.  Not to mention the more mundane things like stringing new electric fence that should have been done.  And now with spring flowers blooming in February, it feels like the gardening season has begun.  In fact, it has.

I have lettuce coming up in the garden.  I bought a couple of really cheap packets of  an Italian mix at the Dollar General.  I thought it would be a really skimpy amount of seeds, but I was pleasantly surprised.  They seem to be germinating well too.

I have also become intrigued with a new (to me) seed-starting method called winter sowing.  The idea is not so much to push the season as it is to use the winter downtime to pot up seeds and then leave them outside to sprout on their own schedule.  I have read that the result is hardy seedlings that you don't have to harden off before transplanting.  So I bought handfuls of dollar store seed packets to experiment with.  So far the bachelor buttons have sprouted and look good.  A vine called cardinal climber sprouted but then got nipped off by cold.  Possibly not all seeds are suitable for this.  It is frightening to me to be sticking tomato seeds outside in February, but winter sowing experts admonish beginners to "trust the seed".  You can read more at WinterSown.Org.  Below are my wintersown seeds in all manner of  repurposed containers.

By The Numbers

Crocus are blooming at Pleasant Places

We are doing a walk through the Bible theme with our church this year--well, really, hitting a book every week is more like a run through the Bible, but you get the idea.  This week we were in Numbers, which sounds like one of those books you might just be tempted to skip, but it was really interesting. 

Numbers:  In the second month of the second year since they had left Egypt, Moses was told to number the people, which he did.  There were a lot of them.  They had manna to eat every day and God's presence in the cloud to lead them around, but they grumbled anyway.  They grumbled about the food: So God gave them quail..lots of quail.  Miriam and Aaron grumbled about Moses: So God gave them a "talkin' to" and gave Miriam leprosy.  They sent 12 spies into the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey and huge bunches of grapes....and also huge people.  Ten frightened spies gave a bad report; only two, Joshua and Caleb, had faith to believe in God's plan.  More numbers:  Because of their unbelief, God said the Israelites would wander in the desert 40 years  until everyone over 20 died (except Joshua and Caleb). That averages to be about 82 deaths every day for 40 years.  The rest of numbers: more wandering, more grumbling, a lot of years--but they still always had food and always had God to guide them.

And here are some of my own numbers:  Today is the 5th day of the 2nd month of 2012 and I am 49 years old today.  It was 58 degrees today -- the sun felt warm on my face.  I didn't have quail or manna, but I did have local beef,  winter vegetables, homemade bread and a scratch cake for dinner, which was delicious.  And I don't have a pillar of fire or a holy cloud, but I do have God's word and His Holy Spirit to guide me, for which I am very thankful.    No grumbling here. 

On the farm since I last posted, construction on the garden beds has continued.  I have dug up the spot where I intend to put my culinary herbs this spring. The fruit trees have been pruned. I borrowed my neighbor's buck to breed two of our does, Bea and Hermione.  It continues to be warm and wet and the crocus are blooming.  We passed a little pond coming home last night and the peepers were already peeping...this is the earliest I ever recall this happening.  I am trying to decide what plants to spend my budget on this spring--grapes? more blueberries?  cherry or pear trees?  I just don't know, but it is time to decide.

Site for new culinary herb beds.  Duck pen in the background

"And the Lord said to Moses, 'Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.' " Numbers 11:23