The Coming of Spring

It's actually still been light out when I've gotten home the last few days. It's wonderful! When I got home early after field work last week I did a little walkabout in the yard and was surprised at what I saw.

The daffodils are starting to peak up. I also need to clean up the violets. I think I might have to move this pot either to the doorstep or behind the gate once the flowers bloom as protection from the kid.

Tulips are starting to come up in the back. Luckily my rock border is still in place so this year's maintenance guys won't mow over them.

I pulled a few of the overwintered carrots while I was out. Even after a few extra months in the ground they were far superior to store bought.

This is one of the chard starts we planted late last fall,  Two of the kale starts are pretty well bug bitten, but the chard looks pretty much the same.  Absolutely no growth! I'm hoping that after a bit of fertilizer and some warmer weather they'll start growing and I'll be able to do some harvesting.

I happened to be in Cottage Grove, Oregon, last weekend, so I made a pilgrimage to Territorial Seed Company's brick and mortar store to do the year's seed purchasing for myself, the ORG, and the Neighbor Lady.  I was surprised that the store was so small. I knew that their test facility and gardens were located elsewhere, but the store I was at was small-to-average nursery size. Luckily, the seed display was very well organized and I was able to find everything on our list, minus two seed packets that were "coming soon".

I'm getting a little antsy to start playing in the garden. There is certainly some weeding that can be done, but I have to wait at least one more week before planting my first batch of tomatoes. I could start some kale and broccoli, but I think I'll wait and do it all together. I've been known to make a big mess while planting my seeds and my personal "maid" refuses to pick up plant mess!