Spring is Springing

Despite the 12 inches of snow we received this past Thursday, signs of Spring are springing up.

Daffodils are pushing through the soil.

Birds are singing every morning.

Chicks are in the farm store.

And woodpeckers are knocking in the trees.

I can't wait for warmer weather!

Jeepers, Creepers, Can't You Hear Those Peepers?

 

The thing I love most about spring and summer?

The sounds of the spring peepers 

and the tree frogs.

(the tree frogs are the ones making that whirring noise).

We had our first really nice day (80+ degrees)

so I managed a hike,

a 2.5 mile walk

and 30 minutes of yoga.

Go me.

The garden still needs to be tilled and I'm hoping I can get to that tonight before the rain.

 

Spring Has Sprung

Finally!

I started some seeds indoors this year.

I have never had luck starting seeds indoors.

Never.

I'm not sure why I'm thinking this year will be different than all the other years before,

perhaps all the stress has addled my brain.

With the nicer weather coming this weekend, 

I have plans to get the garden limed and fertilized and tilled.

Time to shake off the long winter blahs.

In case you're wondering, I have started: 

Cuor di Bue Grosso Cabbage- an Italian heirloom that is super sweet and good for coleslaw and sauteing 

Filderkraut Cabbage- German heirloom developed for sauerkraut (which I'm going to attempt to make)

Bull Nose Pepper- Red bell pepper grown by Thomas Jefferson

Blondkopfchen Tomato- They produce tiny round 1/2" gold tomatoes and are very sweet

Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch Kale- Easy grower, hardy and delicious (and I hated kale most of my life)

I grew this in the winter and it did great. 

And chickens and deer love it too.

I ordered my seeds from Annie's Heirloom Seeds

More Snow? Really?

That's a downy woodpecker sitting on the tree

Guess what.

That's right, we got 4 more inches of snow on St. Patrick's Day.

I also received my box of seeds 

from Annie's Heirloom Seeds.

And Thursday is technically the first day of Spring.

Really.

I'm serious.

Part of a herd of 20+

So, I'll get to planting some of my seeds that need to be started indoors

and come up with ways to keep the deer from turning the garden into an outdoor buffet.

(they like kale a lot)

What's Up?

This may come as a shock, 

but we got more snow.

Luckily, we didn't receive the 8-12" they were predicting, though 

we did manage another 4-6" with a visit from the polar vortex.

I'm so glad he came back to visit.

It just really seems like Spring is never coming

and we'll be stranded in this perpetual winter.

Then the chickens started laying eggs regularly.

So eventually I guess we'll start thawing out.

Let's hope it's soon.

All this winter had me in a real snit.

Stress didn't help either.

But I'm still trying to work on resolutions

even though it seems like a wasted cause.

I heard someone say that there's still 10 months to work on resolutions.

I thought that was a ludicrous statement,

but it's true.

There's nothing that say you must make good on them by the end of February.

So on that note I've managed to achieve the following:

Paying off credit card debt

Breaking through the weight plateau I was stuck at

(though I'm not exercising enough yet or eating perfectly healthy)

We managed a couple of family nights/times and need to get that on a regular basis

We managed 1 date night and need to get that on a regular schedule too!

I've been a little better about eating habits. There's been more salad and less crap.

More water and tea and less soda.

These are all positive things, and I'm working with renewed fervor to get more accomplished.

Today Lent begins and as a child I always tried to "give something up" for Lent.

This year I'm deciding to give up bad carbs/stress eating.

Might seem more like a diet than a Lent offering,

but I really, really rely on stress eating to make me feel better.

Except I don't feel better because I get upset that I ate whatever I ate

and then I need to eat something else from the stress of eating something bad.

So, I'm giving up my crutch, my comfort 

and forcing myself to be healthier and work through things in a healthier way.

Around the Corner

It's 13 degrees outside, -1 with the windchill.  

Got the chickens all closed up in their coop and run. 

 January and February are always the dreariest parts of the winter.  

That's why I love seed catalogs. 

They always show up when you need them too

so you can plan and dream about the Spring.

So, I'm thinking about my garden.

Last year, it sort of got neglected.  I managed to fix the blossom rot problem on my tomatoes only to then have issues with splitting because of the sporadic heavy rains.

Then there were the squash bugs.

I have some ideas for the coming season-

like possibly doing away with rows and going to plant groupings instead.

Ultimately, I hope to can tons of veggies.

Here's to Spring!