Little signs of spring

Took the camera out today and walked around the yard.  There are little signs of spring here and there.  The grass is starting to have a green tint, the birds are going crazy picking up twigs and building nests.  Oh we will probably have some more cold before it warms up for the season but we are enjoying the little signs that a change is on it's way.

Some very brave volunteer lettuce from last years crop!

The chives are peeking out.

My new strawberry planter is almost ready to go...

Hubby has rototilled the first round to try to keep ahead of the weeds......

This is a blurry photo of the aspen trees, they do a little pussy-willow type of thing in the spring.  (can you see it?)

Now we start praying that the cherry and apple trees don't start blooming before the last frost!!  It is very satisfying to feel the seasons change and enjoy the transition from one to another.  I must admit they do seem to get shorter each year!!  That may have more to do with me though I suppose.....

Remember it is leap year, we get an extra day!  My computer at the office reminded me that for writing policies and making changes 2/29 is not a valid effective date!  Will have to see how that goes!

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A Touch of Spring Fever!

Seems like there is so much going on and so little sit down at the computer time!  My mother used to tell me how busy she was and I would tease her about being so much busier after she retired, and now I realize I wasn't funny!!  :)

The weather has been nice lately, we have been getting the weather the eastern part of the country is dreaming of, lots of sunny days and temps in the mid 50's (about 13C) not warm unless you stand in the sun - but so pretty, and of course I smile because in the northern states I know we all put on shorts and t-shirts the minute it hits 50 and the rest of the world would probably laugh at us if they could see!  (We went out for lunch after church this morning and were surrounded by t-shirts and flip flops!) It's really not warm, we just get excited after winter!

Hubby and I went to the Senior Center for lunch on his birthday in January and we walked through the 'Parks and Rec' building while we were there and noticed a "Kick Start Your Garden" class being given in February, so we paid our money and registered for the class.  It was a lot of fun and very educational.  The class is given by the University of Idaho Agricultural Extension Office (these are the folks that supervise 4-H, do soils testing for farmers and just all around ag stuff) The young lady who is an extension agent in our area was very good and easy to listen

The 'haul' we came home with!

to, the presentation was very timely as it was all about starting your seeds early and how to do it, she covered greenhouses, and starting in the window in the house, grow lights and heat mats, and hoop houses.

She went over starting mixes and clean pots and all kinds of containers.  She also covered frost cloths for when you get ready to harden your seedlings and how many degrees each would give you of protection.

We had a great time, there were a lot of people there and they asked a lot of good questions about things we didn't think of at the time or things we don't yet know about our growing season.    I think we would have felt it was worth it for the information but we also came home with handouts, a soil thermometer, a book on Idaho gardening and 12 packets of seeds! We paid $24 for the two of us and we had 3 hours of fun, got lots of information and some cool stuff.  We will definitely be watching for the next extension classes, she said it would be on soils and then maybe one on preserving.  I'm excited!

Of course all that talk of seed starting has us talking and planning our garden for 2015.  We have been talking about each of us picking one new thing each year to try, I think this year mine will be Kale.  It is not something I have had a lot of but it has so many health benefits we should at least give it a try.  Not sure what hubby will pick for his trial veg yet but we have our graph paper ready!!

I am fairly certain we will get a little cold winter weather yet before spring, but we are getting ready! (Always keeping in mind that when it gets hot I will be moaning and whinging for cooler weather!)

It's not that warm!

So there we were, Hubby and I, having a conversation about whether or not 45 degrees (7 C) is cold!  "Of course it is" you say - however there is some question about this.  We may be dealing with relativity here - not the Einstein stuff (obviously-it is us!) - but the part about if it has been a long cold winter and the sun comes out and you are comfortable in your long sleeved shirt without a coat working in the yard is it warm?  See?  We are acclimated now, we have kept the house at about 60 all winter long and worn warm clothes, we have gone out on days when it was so cold you thought you might never get warm again!  So now we went outside and the sun is out and I just think our subconscious minds were so excited that they told our bodies to shut up!  Look at that blue sky!

The corkscrew willow is more interesting when you can see it without its leaves!

We did go outside to work today - definitely have a case of spring fever!  We have been taking a long look at finances and food costs and our plans for the gardening and did a little rethinking!  (funny how that happens!)  While the really nice expensive raised beds are still the goal, for now we are going to increase the size of the area for 'in ground gardening' (I am calling it 'freestyle') and the time to do that is now as the ground is not soggy but soft and damp and we have grass to cut out.  We think we will dedicate the raised bed we currently have to tomatoes and peppers as we are running short of canned tomatoes now and that means we need more this summer!  It is exciting to plan the planting after a long indoor spell - I don't like heat and am not looking forward to summer but I think I am looking forward to spring!


We will use the sod we cut out to make a berm to keep the flood irrigation water out of the garden and add about 5' x 40' to the garden area.  This will give us a space for the raspberries, strawberries and blueberries we have been wanting to plant, and more room to put in a lot of beans and corn which are two of our favorites,  room for a section of root crops and another whole row of peas this year!  (If you are going to dream - dream big I always say)

Can you see in the photo the shovel and the row of holes even with the end of the shed - Yes, yes it is a big job - fortunately hubby is just about stir crazy and ready to have outdoor jobs!  

And look, apparently the weeds think it is warm as well - isn't that lovely....sigh...gotta take the good with the bad, or the bad with the good..sigh....there are always weeds!

I'm Baaaaack!

I've decided to try this blogging thing again, did a little more research, read a whole lot of other blogs, think I'm ready to make the commitment. We'll see. :)

Time away, and many projects done, handmade Christmas was a great success, everyone seemed to like their gifts and a great time was had by all (except for the terrible snowstorm we had to drive through to get there - take my advice - just pay the guy to put on the chains!)

Our January here was the 2^nd coldest on record, a real test of our winter preparations in the house. What did we learn?

A) We can heat the house with electric heaters but it is very expensive.

B) The wood stove we were not sure of (so many things in the house were substandard) was brand new and meets the new EPA guidelines, turned out to be awesome and capable of much more than we gave it credit for.

C) We need a lot more wood.

D) We had one small length of plumbing that missed being insulated and we had to find it! (of course)

E) Double layers of clothing are comfy once you get used to it.

F) You just get used to picking up the quilt, lap robe, blanket every time you sit down. (60° is just chilly!)

G) Our stocking up worked and we never felt the need to go to town in bad weather – we were able to wait for clear roads.

H) Our diy roof repairs got almost all the leaks...sigh!

I) We totally entertained ourselves with our planned projects and enjoyed the great indoors!

We were thinking winter was a success and behind us. spring was here and ...nope! It may say spring but it definitely looks and feels like winter! But we had that warm week and now I have spring fever...actually I had spring fever, now I have a cold...but the spring fever will be back again as soon as I can breathe. Garden planning is in full swing though, we have started some seedlings, laid out plans for the ground level part of the garden and for the raised bed part. Last summer we just had a few containers as it was get the house in shape for winter time. This summer it is work on the yard time. There is a lot to do – not just getting a garden in, there are several projects for just basic landscaping to do this year. There is landscaping here that just makes for more work (that has definitely gotta go!), and some that is neither functional nor pretty and I'm thinking everything eventually ought to be one or the other!

Not to say that there are no projects left inside but they do not have the urgency of last year's "can we get the hot water running before the first freeze".  I have covered the thrifted glider rocker and glider footstool that had no cushions (pics to follow), and we recently found a hide-a-bed at Savers! Cheap - as the legs were broken – but handy hubby is working on them today and we will have a couch and extra bed. The fabric is spotless and in good shape and it's an expensive brand, but not a fabric to go with my décor (ok it's not really a décor but I like to call it that) so I am deciding whether to slipcover or reupholster type cover, I am leaning toward a hybrid, sort of, thing, I'm thinking on it!

One thing I got to the giving stage for Christmas was the recipe book from the grandmas and favorites from the family so they are all on my computer so should be able to share more of them easier now.

Will close this first post back with a story and two pictures. The first picture is a Ziploc baggie of seeds, they are 'wonderberry' seeds (nightshade family, historic heirloom seeds, Volga German family thing) saved, cleaned and given to me by my Grandma, my dads mom, in 1989. She passed away in 1994. I have saved, lost, found, stored and found these silly things again and again over the past 24 years. Kept them in a special place when I found them as we were packing to move, grandma wrote a special note and stuck it inside, otherwise I might have thrown them away – they are so old now!

This second picture is the wonderberry seedlings! I planted them just to see if they would grow and there they are! They come back every year, so my garden will have children of Grandmas wonderberries in it, how cool is that?! My Garden is off to an awesome start!