Spring Fever

Here it is the first of March and we are having yet another snow storm.  I was hoping that Old Man Winter was tired by now, but apparently he has more up his sleeve for this area.  I was hoping for spring to make an early appearance, but so far the only signs of spring are the sprouting seeds that I planted a few weeks ago.

 

The tall pot on the right contains carrots.  The three on the bottom right are lettuce seedlings grown from seed that I saved from plants in my garden last summer.  The center top container is a pair of spinach seedlings.  The lower left hand corner are a few basil seedlings just starting to come up.  The top left is barely just breaking the surface celery seedlings.

 

I was a little doubtful about the germination of some of the seeds so I over planted quite a few of them. I think I had seven or eight sprouts in the lettuces and all that I left behind were two in each pot.  I tried to keeping the ones that looked the biggest at this tender young age.  I figured that if I left two then I was still pretty safe if one of them didn't make it.  I might thin them down to one when they are more established.

 

I planted at least 15 spots in the carrots pot because they don't seem to mind being cramped.  I grew a handful in a shallow flower box last summer and was pleasantly surprised by the small harvest I got from it.  They were the first of the many carrot harvests that I had last year.

 

The calendar says that spring is only three weeks away, so hopefully the weather will get the message and warm up soon.  I really can't wait to start digging in the dirt again.

Eagles in a Tree

 

There are a number of bald eagles that have been living on an area of the river near my house.  For some, this may not seem significant.  You can see bald eagles in many areas of the United States.  This area however has not had eagles living here since before my father was a child.  Come to think of it, I generally wouldn't expect to see eagles in a suburban environment.  I'm not sure if the weather is causing them to travel farther to find food, or if their numbers have recovered well enough to merit a natural population expansion over a larger area.  I am happy that they feel that this is a safe enough habitat that they have gathered here in significant numbers.  Perhaps they will become a new fixture in this area for many winters to come.

 

Quarter Moon in the Night Sky

The moon has been hanging low in the night sky as it emerges from the darkness that was a new moon.  If you are one that gardens by the moon's cycles this would be a good time to plant some seeds for the new year's garden.  Unfortunately, my seed starting plans are indefinitely on hold until I find a place to live that will let me garden again.  For now I may settle for a few pots of lettuce under my grow lights.  Perhaps a few carrots and radishes too for good measure. 

I don't know what kicked off the craving for gardening that I find myself with day after day.  It seems as though once I had a taste of what I could do, I just wanted more and more of it.  I'm more than a little heartbroken that I had to leave such an awesome garden spot behind.  At least the door is always open for dreams of future gardens.  As the first quarter waxes into a full moon I will be planning for the future of my gardening life....where ever it may be.

 

A Walk in the Woods

Today I had a chance to go snowshoeing in a park by my house after work and I took it.  The weather was warmer than it had been and will be for a while, so I took my chance to get out with out freezing off any fingers or toes.  I had been hiking in 8 - 10 degree temps in the last couple of weeks, so when the thermometer was about 30 today it actually felt rather balmy.  I think I might have actually overdressed because I was sweating pretty good when I reached my halfway point.  I had to finish the hike without my hat and gloves just so I could cool off a little bit. 

While I was out enjoying the snow I heard the shouts of children playing in the distance which reminded me of my own child hood.  The joy of freshly fallen snow on a sledding hill, of building snow forts and snowmen  in the back yard, and having snowball fights on the run through the neighborhood.  It seems as though we forget about enjoying this weather when we grow up.  Snow becomes something to be dreaded because the roads will be bad for travel, and we have places we are supposed to be on time.  It also creates more work for us because we now need to shovel the sidewalks and the driveways and clean it off the car before we can leave. 

I hope that reminding myself about the fun side of a snowstorm can help to relieve some of the worry that I feel when I am dealing with the not so fun side of the snow.   Yes it can be treacherous for travel, but it can also open our eyes to the beauty of the world and maybe slow us down long enough that we can enjoy it.  Walking through the woods does just that - move me slow enough through my world that I can take notice of all the little beautiful details.

Bitter Cold on the Way

Winter has only been here for a couple of weeks and this weekend it will be sending the temperatures plummeting below zero for several days in a row.  I actually think it will be warmer in Alaska than it will be here.  At least the ground will be insulated under the heavy blanket of snow that mother nature laid down.  I am hoping that the garlic cloves I helped plant in my parent's garden bed are busy laying the ground work for a bustling spring.  Guess I just have to wait for the snow to melt to find out.....only 2 more months of waiting I hope.

New Year, New Moon, New Snow

Mother Nature is bringing in the new year in her own special way.  This January 1st has come with a new moon in the night sky - if you can see the night sky where you are.  Where I am the snow started to fall yesterday.  Not a heavy wet snow, but a light powdery snow that has sifted itself into tall drifts on either side of the paths I cleared today.  The snow has fallen all day, and promises to stay at least part of the night.  By morning we may have close to a foot - covering the world in a pure and fresh white as if to wipe the slate clean for us all again.  What a beautiful gift to start the new year with.

Looking Ahead to 2014

The new year is fast approaching and I have been thinking a lot about what I want for my future.  Ideally I would buy a few acres and start making big plans about how I want to use the land, but with out the land, no plans can be made.  So for now I just earn what money I can and set it aside for a later date when hopefully I can afford something worth while in an area that I like.

Many things have happened in the past few years that have brought my ideals into clearer focus.  I have learned that food straight from the garden tastes much better than food from the store.  I've learned that growing a large garden involves a lot of time and a lot of labor if you are doing everything by hand.  It has taught me a little bit about how much food different types of crops will produce on a given area, but even those numbers vary from year to year depending on the weather.  I have learned that I love to eat fresh eggs and that I love to watch the antics of happy chickens in my own backyard.  I wish that more people could experience that.  I have also learned to trust that I can preserve food at home and it will be just as good (if not better) than what I can get from the store.

I have also learned that I am getting too old to work myself to death at multiple jobs while still trying to maintain my hobbies.  Something had to give and it wasn't the hobbies - though they have been temporarily put on the back burner (I still think about them constantly).  I have been thinking through different ways that I could make a living from my hobbies so I wouldn't have to work so much at jobs that don't necessarily bring me as much joy.  Besides that, the jobs don't earn as much as they seem to cost me in terms of time and energy.  I still haven't figured out the logic behind working so many hours to pay for the roof over my head that I only use when I am sleeping (aka - not working).  Sometimes I think that long term camping doesn't sound half bad, that is until I think about wintertime and my pets (I don't think cats would take kindly to living in a tent.), and the fact that the forest service probably frowns upon turning the forest into a garden.

So this up and coming year of 2014 is going to be the year that I really put my nose to the grindstone and start this dream of mine that has been taking root in my head for years.  I am going to save the money, buy the land and start living the dream - no excuses and no looking back.