First Day of Spring

For some of you, this first day of spring has brought a fresh blast of snow. While the wind is blowing here as well, it's 80 degrees and feeling fine. I'm fixin' (getting ready to) plant the seeds and add the things I've started inside this winter to the garden in the next several days. It doesn't seem like a real garden without cucumbers and tomatoes.

This is the first year we've been able to pick the asparagus we planted that first year we moved here. It is exciting to see the changes that this year brings. The old adage about three years for plants is true--first you sleep, then you creep, then you leap. This is our leap year! The spindly twigs we planted with our dreams in the dirt have grown into sturdy trees. The garden is ready for planting--a permanent space, covered in mulch. Not all rows last year were covered, and it is amazing to see the difference between the rows that were and the ones that were not. The rows that were covered with mulch were deep brown, moist and full of earthworms and crickets. The rows that weren't covered were dry and sandy and barren of life. I always knew in principle it was the right way to go and I was working toward that, but I didn't think the difference would be so striking. Not going back now.

The beets are beautiful.

The dill is planted for ALL those pickles I'll have to make.

Despite the freezes we've experienced this winter, the peach blossoms held on tight and our trees are loaded with little peaches. We'll have to prune some off so the branches won't break from the weight of them all.

Plum blossom

Our other apples haven't blossomed yet, but this little Israeli apple is already covered in little fruit.

And the fruit we're busy picking (and eating) at the moment is strawberries. It's so nice to go out the backdoor and gather it each day. I'm waiting for some bananas to ripen to make my favorite strawberry banana jam.