It’s been quiet around here, although spring is definitely on the way. We had some gorgeous weather for most of last week. The temps reached nearly 60 degrees last weekend and through Wednesday. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, we are in the midst of a nor’easter-the wind howled all of last night and the rain is still coming down-it’s raw. But there is a feel of spring to the air. A pair of red tailed hawks has taken up residence in our backyard and there is a pair of ducks in the pond across the street. The hawks have been pretty noisy and on Friday morning, I was walking around the garden when I heard the cry and saw what was probably the male hawk fly overhead presumably back to the nest. He was absolutely beautiful and silent-what a wonderful sight! The turkeys continue to make their way through our yard each morning and evening. At last count there were about 25-30. They are beginning their mating season so the males can be aggressive. I had a scary experience with a group of aggressive toms a few years ago and am a little leery of being near them in the spring. This involves sticking my head out the door, peeking around and making a run to my car each morning and reversing the process in the afternoon! We love the turkeys-just not in the spring. A few years ago on an early June morning, right at dawn, we heard a soft clucking and looked outside and saw a hen leading her babies across the yard. They were tiny balls of fluff on two legs-adorable, we affectionately call them cutlets! We saw another mom and her babies the year after, but none last year. We will be watching and listening as summer approaches, it is quite the sight and we look forward to it each spring. .
I am in a lull with garden activities. The end of March through the middle/end of June is one of our busiest times of the year. We have a lot of clearing and yard pick up and then burning-which is one of my least favorite activities but it has to be done. At the beginning of April or at about that time, the peas will get planted and then spinach and lettuce a little later and then onion sets and seed potatoes. I planted potatoes in big buckets last summer and I actually ended up with a fair amount. I will pick up a couple more buckets and do the same again this year. I love new potatoes. Half of the fun is digging through the dirt and discovering these little nuggets and then steaming them up for dinner with butter and chives! . I am also going to try growing sweet potatoes. I will need to place black plastic on the soil to warm it before planting the slips. The rest of the warm weather vegetables-tomatoes, peppers, egg plant, tomatillos, beans and summer and winter squashes will go in around Memorial Day.
I have 85 seedlings under fluorescent lights in our dining room. They seem to be flourishing-a bit leggy but that’s ok for now. I will give them a little more time and then transplant into much bigger containers. I didn’t have a great germination rate this year-not sure why as I planted seeds twice and only had a few more germinate. Oh well, I am happy with what I have and so far they are doing beautifully! . I really need to be thinking about a green house which would give me a place to start all of the seedlings and would be out of the house. I could heat by propane and run a heavy duty extension cord from the garden to the green house to provide electricity for heating mats. The CBEN* wants simple and of course I want the real thing! This week there is a show on PBS about building green houses and we will watch this to get some ideas. Poor CBEN, he never knew what he was signing on for when we met. Last weekend, we went to a small spring flower show at the South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell. The show it’s self was ok. I have been interested in bee keeping for a long time and went to a beekeeping workshop which was informative. I am hoping to take the beekeeping course in Hanson next January and then maybe I will try a couple hives next spring. I am pretty comfortable with bees and have good common sense but we will see.
Well, I guess that’s it for now, not much else to say right now. . I thought I heard a robin singing about an hour ago, so I guess spring is almost here!
MG
* Chief Beneficial Nematode
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