Delights of Spring

Late last week my DH has surgery on his shoulder.  As a result my computer time has been short. 

Ooglebloops stopped by and commented on my spring fever giveaway and mentioned growing potatoes in tires, an idea I shared with her.  I thought I’d share some pictures of how well they are growing.  This method is excellent for small spaces or rocky or poor soil.  From all appearances…these are happy taters!

While I was outside taking pictures of the potato plants, I checked the hen house for eggs.  Aren’t these beautiful?

And a random shot of my little garden…

When I downloaded these pictures I found some of our Boxers our granddaughter must have taken. I thought this one was especially good of Emma.

Until next time…

No two days are the same in one garden.  ~ unknown ~

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Feels Like Spring

Even though another blast of cold weather is expected to move through the southeast over the next few weeks, it feels like spring today.  Days have warmed enough our lettuce bolted and dons tiny flowers.  I’ll let it go in hopes of harvesting seed for the fall.  Pansies are their full glory but soon the heat will melt them.  It would be nice to save some seed from them, too.  Blooming flowers in the wintertime are reminders of lovely things to come.  This morning I worked in my little kitchen garden for a while, cleaning uninvited weeds and old growth.  It felt good to nurture plants, but my spring fever is worsened and the urge to plant more is stronger.  I will resist a little longer to avoid the risk of losing tender plants to frost.  The old folks around here say, “if it thunders in February, it will frost in April”.  We certainly had our share of thunder in February.  (It would be a welcome sound now, too.  Conditions are so dry.) For now I will be content watching potatoes, onions, collards, and herbs grow.

Today I started creating a scarecrow for the kicks and grins of having one.  It’s been a few years since I took the time to make one, but it’s past time.  Scarecrows make me smile, and simple pleasures are so worth the time it takes to produce them.  I’ll share a picture when she’s finished.  (I always make lady scarecrows.)

Until next time…

God loves you not because of what you do, but because of who He is. ~ unknown ~

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Homegrown Tomatoes

For the first time since Katrina blew through, I’ve planted a few things for the simple pleasure watching things grow holds.  The satisfaction of looking out over my “green babies” is one I’d almost forgotten.  When I spotted my first tomato I broke out in a shout of glee.  My DH thought something had a grip on me and came running (which is difficult for him these days) to my rescue.  The tomato I celebrated was barely visible to the human eye, but I immediately anticipated the wonderful, sweet taste it would one day soon have.  I understand I’ll have competition to be first to taste the season’s first offering.  My grandson Preston is a connoisseur of fresh tomatoes.  He plucks them from the vine and pops them into his mouth bypassing washing altogether.   He sounds like pretty tough competition, and how could a grandmother not yield to such a cute little tomato-lover! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My return to gardening is small scale.  I’ve planted just enough vegetables to nourish the long neglected gardener in me.  If everything grows and bears well, there will be abundant tomatoes for eating and canning, and peppers enough for making salsa.  Fresh herbs grow along side my vegetables.  There’s something extraordinarily satisfying about growing herbs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking after growing things requires time and special care.  We’re blessed with native help…special, bug-eating sentries, so to speak…with an ever-growing population inhabiting our little habitat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry 😉  I couldn’t resist.

 

There’s one more really exciting (to me) thing planted in my yard.  In the days before Katrina hit, I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting my then online-friend Faye and her family in person.   My DH, DGD Kirsten and I made a trip to Colorado to deliver a horse and made a side-trip to their house for a visit.  Faye has a wonderful little place with a delightful flavour of country-living on the outskirts of her town.  There were beautiful flowers growing in her yard, and I asked permission to harvest seeds to take back to Mississippi.  I had every intention of speedily planting the seeds, but Katrina changed my mind.  That big wind hit our home before we made it back and rendered it unfit to live in.  Life as we knew it changed…abruptly.  I’ve always been taught seeds are not viable for long after their first season, but I decided to take a chance.  Nothing chanced is nothing gained…the seeds have sprouted!  Good Lord willing, beautiful hollyhocks, marigolds, zinnias and cosmos will don our landscape with *gay color.  These will be one more reminder of the precious friendship I have with the donor of the seeds. 

*(Just in case anyone wonders…that’s the pre-1960’s definition of gay…happy, cheerful, etc., etc., etc.)

 

Until next time…

remember…

Only God can grow a tomato.  All good and perfect gifts are from above. 

 

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