Happy Earth Day!

Everyday should be Earth Day, but it is good to have a special day on which to stop and reflect or partake in some sort of action.

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.
– Gary Snyder –

Last weekend it was time to remove all the winter mulch from the various garden beds. I uncovered blooming crocuses to my surprise and delight. Even though they have been there for years, I completely forgot about them. I apologized to them for not remembering their existence. They have forgiven me with their pretty purple blooms. Also, their little patch has expanded, not significantly, but they are clearly naturalizing. Yay!

My oregano made it through the winter, which made me happy. It’s touch and go with oregano in my zone. A long, cold winter will kill it, but this year was fairly mild all-in-all. The thyme, chives, and sorrel did just fine but they usually do. The Friends School is not having the big garden sale this year because of the pandemic, but my food co-op is having a plant sale so I hope to pick up a few more herbs for the spiral.

The garlic I planted in the fall is doing well. It was a bit anemic looking when I uncovered it because it had done some major growing, but it is getting perkier by the day. And today in the mail my seed potatoes arrived! Instead of several different varieties this year we decided on two pounds of just Irish Cobbler because that is the variety that has consistently done the best. I have to wait about two, maybe three weeks before I can plant them, otherwise they are in too much danger of getting frozen by late season frost.

James spent a good deal of time scooping out the finished compost from the bins and consolidating our double bin into one. The second bin is now already full of winter leaf mulch. Most of the winter mulch was piled into the chicken garden where the Dashwoods have been happily spreading it out. Chickens do not like piles, so if you ever want to save yourself some time, set your chickens on your leaf or straw or dirt pile and they will take care of spreading it out for you.

The seeds I started indoors are doing great. I’m still a couple weeks away from being able to plant them outdoors, but it won’t be long now. If the weather is fine this coming weekend, however, I will be able to seed cool weather vegetables–kale, cabbage, lettuce, radish, and peas.

Good news! We have yeast! None of the stores had it even when they said they were expecting some, it didn’t arrive. So James called the bakery down the street from our house. He also, conveniently, knows the owner. We traded a dozen eggs for a half a pound of yeast. And she said to call her whenever we needed more. Local businesses rock! Try to support them if you can.

So James baked regular whole wheat bread–no more rationing bread for toast and sandwiches! But today he is also making whole wheat bagels and burger buns.

He has given up on the sourdough starter, but I have not. We had attempt number 4 on the go when he got the yeast, so I have taken it under my care. Daphne suggested I try keeping it on top of my water heater. It has worked in that it has not died, but it is not quite warm enough for it to do more than get a tiny bubble or two. But it’s not dead yet! I am determined to make it work, somehow. The weather is also becoming consistently warmer, which will help.

We continue healthy at my house. I hope you are healthy at yours too.

Doing any planting in your own garden? I’d love to hear what you are growing!

There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.
– Linda Hogan –