I know I show you this every year, but it is so pretty!!  I always get excited when I see it blooming, and it smells so sweet.  

 

I hope you have Mahonia in your world to watch as it blooms.  Be sure to get up close enough to breathe in its fresh scent.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We saw flowers on the Bradford Pears opening up.  They are not in full bloom yet, but showing promise.

 

I'm happy.

 

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING!!!

 

Now this is a pretty picture!!!  Hahaha!  It is our old maple tree stump.  The big part is about 2 feet in diameter, and the smaller part is rotten to the core.  If you look past the stump down the hill you can see the branches and the logs that were once connected to the tree.  OK, enough of that.

 

Look at all those spots on the cut edge of the stumps.  That's where we plugged our shiitake mushrooms.  Jon drilled 100 3/8" holes, and we put in the plugs inoculated with shiitake spawn.   Then we painted over the plugs with beeswax to seal them.  

 

We inoculated oak logs back in 2020, and for the past few years we have harvested shiitake mushrooms.  They were so good that we decided to try it again with this big fat maple tree stump.  I have no idea how long it will take before they fruit, but we aren't going anywhere, so we will just be happy when they do it.  I will show you then.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is not how we usually think of Forsythia;  it's a little twiggy.  But it is early spring and it is just starting to show color.  I thought you might like to see it in its transition mode.  This is so exciting for me.

 

Of course it is just showing color at the top, because the deer have browsed the bottom branches.  But in the next couple weeks we will be seeing Forsythia all over town.  I hope you love it as much as I do.  My harbinger of spring.

 

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING!!!

 

We walked in the park on Saturday, and saw more folks than we've seen in a while.  It was such a pretty spring day.  

 

I just had to take this picture of the Red Maple in the parking lot.  I love how the flowers start to look fuzzy red;  and looking up into the blue sky just makes me happy.  Spring is almost here!!!

 

 

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING!!!

 

 

 

 

Yep, Daylight Saving Time happened today.  I hope you didn't miss anything. 

 

We enjoyed the extra hour sleep.  Oh, wait, we got an hour less sleep.  It's all the same to us.  We get up when we're ready, and go to bed when we're done.  Isn't retirement a wonderful thing?  

 

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING!!!

 

Yep!!  You know it's almost spring when the daffodils start blooming.  I can't help it;  I have to cut them and bring them inside.  

 

They make me happy.

 

HAPPY MARCH!!!

 

I love looking up this time of year, and seeing the Bradford Pears getting ready for their spring display.  The flower buds are swelling, and they should begin blooming in a couple weeks.  

 

This is just one of the trees on our daily walk.  The neighborhood is full of them.  I will show you again when they start blooming.  That is really pretty.  

 

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING!!!

 

This is our 2025 garden.  Well, the start of it anyway.  

 

We sowed lots of tomato seeds, kale, chard, cabbage and lettuce seeds.  We also sowed peppers and eggplants.  There are five flats (each with ten rows of seeds) all on the heat mats now.  The greens will germinate first, then the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.  

 

As they grow and sprout true leaves they will get up potted into 6-packs, and put under the grow lights.  If you like, I will show you as we go along.  It is a great process, and I think we have a pretty good system now.  

 

Then in April we will start planting everything into the garden.  Right now, all that's out there are the leeks and garlic, and a few kales that survived the winter.  I sowed dill and cilantro in place in the garden, as they don't like being transplanted.  They will start emerging in the next month.  

 

Then, after the full moon, we will plant our root crops:  carrots, radishes, beets, and potatoes.

 

It doesn't look like much now, but trust me, this is the beginning of a wonderful new year in the garden.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I started with the arugula bed.  It was filled with chickweed all winter.  Well, I filled the wheelbarrow with all that chickweed, and hopefully got it all out.  Then I fluffed up the soil, added some eggshells and arugula seeds.  I covered it all with straw and watered it in.  We will see how long it takes to germinate.  It depends on the temperature of the soil, but it has been kinda warm lately.  So we may be looking at sprouts soon.  

 

I love this time of year.

 

HAPPY MARCH!!!