My Newer Manure Set Up

 The big melt is coming!  Temperatures up to **55 degrees** by Friday, so...

The snow has been amazing, though.   We got 11 - 12 inches, and then got another powdery inch after a few days.  Borga was not too keen on a snow walk...

...but did her best to keep up!

It wasn't long before she was worn out...

...and ready to head in.

Claudia, comfortably ensconced in her heated garage bed, had absolutely no interest in going outside.

The wind smoothed out the snow and made gorgeous drifts, and the sun made perfect diamond sparkles across the expanse.  It was so lovely!

It was almost a shame to break a path through it, but it had to be done so that we could easily get to the barn.

The birds have been steady visitors at the feeder and have pecked their way through all twelve inches to the bare ground below the feeder.  I love watching them through the living room window!

Valentine's Day has come and gone.  I didn't feel very festive because of poor Bosewichte, but I did make a "heart inside" loaf cake...

...topped with my favorite new toy, a handmade paper chain.  I used 1" x 1/4" strips of colored paper and constructed in the same way you'd make a full-size one.  It was somehow soothing and therapeutic, and I have claimed said chain to drape on my computer!

Now that the season is getting on, I've turned my thoughts toward indoor planting.  Ranuculus and anemones have to be "pre-sprouted" by soaking in warm water for a day, planted in soil for 2 weeks to stimulate root growth, and then planted in the ground.  

They don't look like much now...

...but I'm hoping to see THIS within a couple of months!

(photo courtesy of Floret Farms)

(photo courtesy of Eden Brothers)

I also started 17 varieties of sweet peas nearly 2 weeks ago.  I read so much conflicting data about sweet peas...scratch the seed!  Heat mat!  No heat mat!  Surface sow!  Plant 1" deep!...but I decided to go with the one that made the most sense.  The seeds don't get scratched in nature, and they're a cool-weather plant.  The seeds are larger, so I planted them about 3/4" deep.  All in tall yogurt containers...

...well-watered and placed in our dark, chilly attic.  Germination is supposed to take about 10 days, and I really sweated that time, checking the containers daily for signs of life.  Should I have nicked the seeds?  Don't they need temperatures warmer than 50 degrees to germinate?  But sure enough, after 10 days, I started seeing little nubs...PHEW!  

I hope they'll be beautiful in about 5 weeks!

(photo courtesy of Floret Farms)

I'm continuing to winter sow as our weekly plastic containers are freed up.  I also started soil blocking this week.  Soil blocking is an alternative to using the black plastic containers that you normally use for seed starting.  It's supposed to cause stronger growth and allow you to start many more seeds in less space than with the plastic.  

First, you have to sift all of the big chunks out of your peat moss.

Sixteen cups of this sifted peat moss is mixed with 4 cups of composted manure, 1/4 cup of rock phosphate, and 1/4 cup of green sand (those last two are...fertilizers?).  You add water until you get a mud pie-like slurry and then pack it into your handy soil blocker, which compresses the mixture and pops out 2" blocks, ready for seeding.

Blocks are seeded and placed on cafeteria trays, which are then placed on heat mats until the seeds germinate.  You bottom-water by adding the water to the cafeteria tray, and the blocks wick it up.  A sprinkle of vermiculite on top helps retain moisture and stop algae growth.  These little blocks can hold a seedling for 4 - 6 weeks and then be popped directly into the ground, so no transplant shock.

They are VORACIOUS drinkers and I'm watering these twice per day.  Plus some other seeds that I started upstairs on heat mats. Plus keeping the sweet peas, anemones, and ranuculus watered.  Oh, and the Aerogarden.  It's taking a lot of time and energy!  I just hope that it works!  It's all new to me this year.

It's just too cold to work in my potting station, so I've dragged everything into the house, which has been completely overtaken by debris.  We're crunching over big grains of salt from our walkway that we've just been too busy to sweep up.  A big bag of composted manure...manure!...is spilling over on our dining room floor.  Big bags of other ingredients are spread around, plus two big mixing tubs, cafeteria trays, grow lights, heat mats.  Oh, and the house smells like old, wet dirt from the soil blocks.  It's making me crazy, but hopefully, within a week, it will be warm enough to move out to the potting addition.  Todd has worked hard to set up a "grow tent" in that cold space, and once the indoor temperature hits at least 45 degrees, I should be able to move around comfortably.  

One...more...week...and no more manure in the house!  One of my current top life goals right now.

Have a great week!  

 Snow, beautiful snow!

The five inches of snow that we currently have is supposed to be doubled overnight.  Everything looks so cozy and nice under this lovely white blanket!

My office view shows the path we've trampled as we go to and from the barn every day.

On warmer day, huge otherworldly cracks appear in the back pond.

Even though the ice is thin, it's criss-crossed with tracks.

What made them?  Coyotes?  I've been seeing a big one in our barnyard recently.

Another mysterious snow track:  this low tunnel that snakes out of the wood and into our white barn!  Argh, we've got to get those trail cams installed!

At least I recognize this one...a little field mouse scampering over and then diving beneath the snow.

We're putting out extra food this week for the wild animals and, of course, the birds.  We've got an influx of blue jays...the trees are full of them!

The snow is great for pup frolicking, of course.  We've used cattle panels to seal off one of the back pasture areas that's only partially fenced.  Borga approves!

There's been a little less frolicking around here this week because on Monday, we lost our dear Bosewichte.

He was always by my side.  Climbing into my lap...

"Helping" me with sewing...

...or actively involved in intrepid exploring.

Mostly, though, his job was keeping an eye on me...from a distance...

...but he usually preferred a closer proximity.

We had a special relationship and it's been a very, very tough week.  

"I have sometimes thought of the final cause of [pets] having such short lives and I am quite satisfied it is in compassion to the human race; for if we suffer so much in losing a [pet] after an acquaintance of ten or twelve years, what would it be if they were to live double that time?  The misery of keeping a [pet] is his dying so soon.  But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?" - Sir Walter Scott

Bosewichte was my faithful companion for almost seventeen years and he'll never be forgotten.  Hug your little guys a little closer this week!

go dig or go loam

In the spirit of "be careful what you wish for," our original forecast for next week showed twenty-inch snow accumulations!  Now that estimate has been about halved, but for someone who hasn't seen more than an inch in a decade, thirteen inches is a considerable amount.  And, as someone who doesn't have to drive in it, I'm delighted!  In preparation for our "polar vortex" (is that not the perfect title for a winter-season adventure movie?), I finished most of my winter sowing.

301.

Three hundred and one different flower varieties have been planted.  That includes different strains of flower within a type (for example, I've got 17 varieties of sweet peas), and I only planted a few seeds of each, but phew, the possibilities!  

Seed trading on Facebook has definitely opened up a whole new world.  As they say on every obnoxious reality baking show that I've ever seen, go big or go home.

I continue to spy new possibilities on forums that I peruse.  Ooohhh, pure black pansies!  White frilly poppies that look like peonies!  I send a message, I make the trade, and I prepare another plastic container.  Claudia watches me with bemusement while I work.  She doesn't understand why I'm not rolling in the sun while I've got the chance.

Not too much snow but considerable chill, so I've been working inside as much as I can.  After six weeks of experimentation, I've stumbled upon a knitting method that doesn't bother my right hand.  I've been working doggedly on this wrap, which is made up of dreaded ribbing - two knits, two purls, repeat. The monotony of it makes it the perfect project for working with various finger-positioning methods.  Believe it or not, this will double in width once it's blocked out!

Every few days, I'll sew together another quilt square.  Since the pieces are pre-cut, each square takes about 15 minutes to sew.

Between my regular work and various distractions, I haven't spent too much time on it, but I'm setting a goal of 3 squares per week so that I can make some real progress this month.  

I'm looking forward to spring, but I'm not yet burned out on winter.  I love the gorgeous sunrises over the snow-covered field every morning.

 

I love finding new animal tracks on my daily walk to the barn.

I love watching birds crowd around the feeders, or rest on the branches of our maple tree.

I love seeing my beloved plants in their "winter interest" phase!

The cats (ahem) keep me company while I work, which makes for a warm and cozy day.

It will be interesting to see how much snow really rolls in during this weather system.  We'll be curled up inside, no matter what.

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant:  if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."  - Anne Bradstreet

Have a great week!