GARDENING

Summer/Spring has returned. It is a fantastic day. Bright Sunshine; it should get to the 70F today.

Despite, a fairly early Spring, and a month without snow, our soil is still quite cold. We have heavy soil that is slow to warm up. We have found that it doesn't pay to plant too early. Sometimes we will plant radishes, onions and lettuce in April or early May, but we have found that they will do just as well if we wait until mid May. It is no longer 'we', as I can't get down on my knees anymore. Even before that, however, Jamie had been the main gardener. She has been gardener-in-chief for over twenty years. I did the tilling up until a few years ago; now, Jamie gardens with, no or very little, tilling.

We got our seed potatoes out of the crawl space, under the new addition. It looks like the space is going to work as a root cellar. Half the potatoes were perfect, sprouted just to the degree one would want them. The other half rotted. Further experience will determine the reason. Could be the type of potato; could be they got too cold. Using the crawl space to store potatoes was an experiment. We didn't monitor them over the Winter. The crawl space access, is by trapdoor, in the floor of the laundry room. This was a very busy place, with three extra people living with us, and one thing and another, we didn't check them out. Next Winter we will keep an eye on them.

Jamie is planting potatoes right now. We have onion, Brussels sprout, broccoli, cauliflower and tomato plants, in the greenhouse, waiting to go in. Jamie won't plant the tomatoes for another week. It is going to be very busy the next few days. Our lawn, more meadow than lawn, is in need of shortening.

It doesn't seem like a mowing day, though, it seems more like a day to take off my shoes and entwine my toes in the grass, while lounging in a chair. The grass will still be there tomorrow.

We have about twenty-three hens {I need to count them} and some are old ladies approaching ten years, long since retired from egg laying. We do have a retirement community for old biddies. Despite that, we have more eggs than we can eat. We get more than a dozen a day. We eat a lot, but they still add up. When we remember, we give them to whoever comes over. We were overflowing with eggs a few days ago, but we managed to give away ten dozen in the last week.

I don't have anything very profound, to say, today. The outside is beckoning. I have a few chore to do. I have to do the dishes and give water to my animals. Then I think I will experience my toes in the grass.

Have a very wonderful long weekend. Celebrate Summer! Dance and sing! Hold your love light high!

Love and Peace,  Gregg