There is about a two week window in the Spring when all things are just right and there is non stop gardening to be done, with a little bit of work on the chick nursery as well. The moisture in the ground has to be just right, the weather forecast needs to be a few cool days, some (I said only some) rain, followed by warm sun. And the past two weeks has been it. One more day of planting and weeding and everything should be ready. It is supposed to be in the eighties by the end of the week and that should sprout the seeds.
The new chick nursery was finished yesterday and Goldie is sitting on 8 eggs. If they don’t hatch, I will switch them for chicks from the feed store. It worked great last year. No muss, no fuss, no worries.
We ate our first artichoke last night. One out of three plants made it through the winter. The first pea is on the vine, at least it was five minutes ago……if someone passes by they may not be able to overcome the temptation and pluck it.
The lavender is beautiful in all its purpleness, and actually the winter thyme I let flower is gorgeous as well. After winter’s greenness, anything with color brings excitement. Even the weeds. The wild buttercups are a real nuisance but their yellow is enchanting.
Two hours in the garden is the best meditative therapy and it costs almost nothing, especially if you are a seed saver.
As I finish up the hard work of getting things ready, I look forward to the lazy summer where I just have to spend a 10 to 20 minutes wandering through the gardens on the way to feeding the chickens and pulling a few weeds here and there and checking on progress.
In the fall, there will be another marathon, gleaning, and fall planting, and getting things ready for winter.
Seasoned 