I imagine every farm property has one of these ditches. An old repository of junk. We decided it would be a more pleasant feature if the junk were removed. And so Anne began strapping up the scrap metal and giant spools of rusty wire, hooking it to the chain and clasping the chain to the truck. Two pickup loads have been removed and taken to the landfill. Good thing the land is empty there and needs filling.
We could not have asked for a nicer weekend in the middle of March. Not too windy, lots of sun, mild temps all help to make my winter lethargy melt away. I seriously feel like I got some sun today.
And we were productive too! How can you not be when the weather is finally this beautiful?! And it was just in time for the grapevines. Any longer and they might have started bud swell. About half of our grapes needed to be cut back to year one. They were not tall enough. This year they should easily reach the first wire. Installing the wires is a project for when the ground is completely thawed as I still need 22 line posts and two end posts.
Planted more seeds today too: 2 hot peppers, 2 sweet peppers, brussel sprouts, artichokes, yellow tomato, and some zinnia from last years garden just to see what might sprout. Good times ahead!
Signs of Spring are not limited to the outdoors. Actually, the outdoors is still a bit cold. Well, freezing really. 9 degrees! And as depressing as that may be, there are pleasant signs of the upcoming season in our kitchen.
I’ve prematurely started some tomato and bluestem grass seeds inside. The tomatoes have started while the grass seeds remain unmotivated. I say I started these “prematurely” as most literature I’ve found indicates tomatoes should only be planted 4 weeks prior to your last frost, and not planted outside until 2 weeks after that last frost date. You can hasten the outdoor planting with covers (waterwalls, gallon jugs, etc). Our last frost date is optimistically May 15th. That means, if these other garden people are to be trusted, I have started these seeds about 8 weeks too early. We shall see.
Boxelder bugs are another clear, yet much less exciting, indoor sign of change in seasons. (Note – the photo is a bit doctored, boxelder bugs are really black with red markings)
And they really like computers. Is the warmth? The light? And more importantly, will someone come and get them out of the house? They are not dangerous and they can be interesting – the way fish in a fishbowl are interesting – but twice now I have found myself taking a sip of coffee and spitting the coffee out along with one of these guys. They don’t taste as bad as the multicolored asian lady beetles, but they still ruin an otherwise good cup of coffee. Jake has recently taken to eating them. Thanks Jake!
