Winter's Veil

 

Another Monday morning here in The Holler. Another frosty morning and the second in a row. This is the time of year where winter and spring linger together with just  a thin veil between the two. Some mornings warm and sunny and yet others a light frost still remains.  Our average last frost date is around April 15th. The oak and hickory tree buds are just starting to swell with a promise of leaves to come. The yellow blooms of the forsythia and cornelian cherry trees have faded only to be replaced by pink. 

The most prominent of the blooms right now are the pink peach blossoms. Not to be outdone though are the white blooms of the native plum trees and Nanking cherry bushes. Lots of buds swelling on the beach plum, blueberry and gooseberry bushes though. 

While I don't see many daffodils up yet I do see the daylilies and Hosta sending green shoots out. The elderberry are already leafing out. 

These days the back deck is hopping with activity with lots of jugs of seedlings coming up. I adore winter sowing and it produces such healthy seedlings for my gardens. These jugs are full of broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and bok choy seedlings enjoying the sunshine and warmth on the tables and deck rails. Once the trees begin to leaf out then they will have to be moved out to the yard for brighter sun but for now they remain on the deck for easy watering and watching closely. Eventually they will move to the raised beds as a final home. 

And remember the little spring duckling of last year that accidentally ended up in a nest of chicken eggs and had to be raised by hand because the hen rejected her rather violently. "Tiddly Winks"  rode around in my pocket and played at my feet in the gardens last year just a fuzzy little thing. Now a full grown duck she shows up every morning at the back door to visit and partaking of her favorite snack of green peas that I keep for them in the fridge. Her sisters in crime "Thelma and Tassy" want no part of this shenanigan and prefer to stay out on the grass. Tiddly however comes pecking at the door to let mama know she is waiting not so patiently for her morning attention. 

We have again started turning compost piles that have accumulated from the regular cleaning of the animal pens over the winter. Tiddly is a regular pest and enjoys playing queen of the mountain on them while we are trying to turn them. She is just waiting for a bug of some kind to move and keeps the piles free of the most common of the insects that inhabit the piles. She also enjoys sneaking in the dog kennels and slipping dog food and I am sure glad the big dogs are not mean towards her.  

So while spring technically is here we still await last frost with bated breath. Waiting to see what damage those late frosts will claim on the fruit harvests for the year depending on what stage of development the blooms are in. The pruning and fertilizing of these trees for early spring has been completed though. Since we have so many fruit trees of different kinds planted rarely do we lose everything and especially the late bloomers usually always make a harvest.  

These are the times when I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas. Eagerly anticipating with my seedlings flourishing and my sweet potato slips rooting and my palms itching for that warm weather to arrive and stay for awhile. 

But in the meantime I have jars accumulating again on the table and am waiting for a good sale on something to refill them with. I am hoping for pork butt to go on sale and wanting to can some pulled pork for sandwiches. So for now lots of quilting and maybe getting a jump on some spring cleaning.

Hoping everyone is safe and warm and until next week.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

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