The little Crocus blooming in the early spring sunshine. A little promise of the miracles spring has yet to offer!
The apple trees are budding forth and will be the last to bloom in the orchard.
The plum and peach trees have put on quite a show this week despite the rain.
Along with the most majestic blooms the simple blooms of the dandelion have emerged to feed the bees.
And we are again picking asparagus and enjoying it fresh off the grill lately.
Even though our backs are aching and we go to bed exhausted every night we are not immune after all these years to the glory and promise around us.
The self satisfaction that comes with a day of hard work and the awe of the possibility of great bounty yet to come.
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
The apple trees are budding forth and will be the last to bloom in the orchard.
The plum and peach trees have put on quite a show this week despite the rain.
Indeed spring is a busy time of the year here in The Holler. The fruit trees are all pretty well blooming and the smell is incredible. The daffodils are still putting on a show as well as the crocus despite rain all this week. There has been quite alot of wind and the big rabbit cage out by the garden has blown over. That thing is so heavy we never thought it would but guess we were wrong. We will have to get together the son in law and neighbor to all help lift it over. O Wise One is going to set steel posts in the ground to attach it to. Thank goodness there were no rabbits in it yet. The winds on the prairie can be brutal.
In between rain storms we have managed to get a few things done. Cleaned out the chicken house and started the first new compost bed of the year.
Lots of weeding, pruning and mulching done but lots left to do. The sweet potatoes are sprouting that I started 2 weeks ago and I got two trays of tomatoes planted. The garden is full of green shoots from the early cool weather crops. Hardening off my broccoli, cabbage and onion seedlings and as soon as the weather stabilizes a bit they are ready to go into their permanent homes.
Lots of weeding, pruning and mulching done but lots left to do. The sweet potatoes are sprouting that I started 2 weeks ago and I got two trays of tomatoes planted. The garden is full of green shoots from the early cool weather crops. Hardening off my broccoli, cabbage and onion seedlings and as soon as the weather stabilizes a bit they are ready to go into their permanent homes.
Along with the most majestic blooms the simple blooms of the dandelion have emerged to feed the bees.
And we are again picking asparagus and enjoying it fresh off the grill lately.
Even though our backs are aching and we go to bed exhausted every night we are not immune after all these years to the glory and promise around us.
The self satisfaction that comes with a day of hard work and the awe of the possibility of great bounty yet to come.
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
Yes it is a very busy time! This will be my first year blogging, working and gardening. Hope I can do it all!
ReplyDeleteWhen canning season starts is when my posts become less frequent and detailed. There are just so many hours in the day and one must set priorities. My readers seem to understand and roll with the flow !
DeleteI love your pictures, CQ.
ReplyDeleteHow long do you let your compost pile sit before using? Since you say it's your first, I am guessing you have a 'recipe' you use that tells you what works best and when to start a new one?
That is wild about the wind. Sounds like O Wise One has a good plan though.
Hope you all have a blessed weekend!
I let my compost sit until it resembles dirt. There is no recipe if it rots it goes in the compost. This is a mixture of hay and chicken manure therefore it will be allowed to rot for at least 2 years because chicken manure put on without composting will burn plants with too much nitrogen.I start a new one when this one gets full. Composting is one of thoose things that people tend to make alot harder than it is : )
ReplyDeleteTwo years? Oh wow. Didn't know it had to wait so long. Do you use the Deep litter method for your chickens then?
DeleteThank you, as always, for sharing your knowledge. :o)
Yes I put deep strawin the chicken house and continue to add to it all winter. Then in early spring (now) I pull it all out and it goes into the compost and I start again. Sweep out the house and spray it down with a vinegar solution and let it dry. Do the same in my turkey house. There are always at the least two piles of this stuff around the place cooking, I just put it in old wire rings and let it rot along with egg shells coffee grinds and whatever else I can find. One never has enough compost when you have as many gardens and beds as I do. : )
DeleteWow, you inspire me so. Can I possibly plant some sort of garden here in (very hot) Arizona? I hear that it just has to be done at a different time of the year.
ReplyDeleteThe Canned Quilter, It must smell wonderful there with all the blossoms from the fruit trees and flower gardens. Now, that is a great harvest on asparagus. I've never planted asparagus, what time of year do you start planting?
ReplyDeleteI love this time of the year with everything in bloom. My iris this year have really put on a show. We have also had our share of the wind. It blew over my patio table and shattered the glass for a great mess to deal with. I either will replace the glass or the table. My poor little silkie chicks have stayed close to the coop. I guess they did not want to get blown into the next farm. Have a great weekend. Our temp is in the 80's so will be working outside all weekend..vera
ReplyDelete