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!