cat grass en masse

 It's still pretty cold, but...sunrises have been amazing lately.

I've slooooowly been working on getting my mini greenhouses out.  No green yet!

For instant gratification, there's always...cat grass.  It's so easy to grow.  Just sprinkle seeds and cover...

...put in a sunny window for a couple of days, and...instant spring!

It lasts like this for several days...meanwhile, I'll start another container of it tomorrow.  Swap out the old, repeat, repeat.  So easy!

Meanwhile, I've got daffodils everywhere!

This vintage jadite egg cup that I picked up at an antique shop is perfect for tiny daffodils.

I bought these ceramic eggs so long ago, and I use them every single spring!

Meanwhile, I'm getting my fill of color outside.  I love seeing all the green!

Not just green.

Vinca

Spirea

the first of the violets!

a peek of lilac

daffodil

hosta nubs

the first redbuds!  

Things should really be popping in a couple of weeks!  Meanwhile, we'll be checking the trail cams for the first signs of BABIES...bobcat cubs, goz, coyote kits, and fawns!  We have an astounding number of possums and I'm really hoping to catch some possum babies (joeys, just like baby kangaroos!) soon.  I love spring!

Have a great week!  

grass mass

The frogs singing, the days warming, the buds popping...all have been arrested by our recent cold spell.  Typical cold, grey March weather.

We had a brief snow shower yesterday that had melted off by noon.  

Heavy, wet snow, made up of crooked bars instead of the normal soft flakes.

Good thing we were able to squeeze in a hike before this cold weather came!

The brief flare of warmth brought out some spring ephemerals.  Old favorites, like Cut-Leaf Toothwort...

...and Trillium.

The Hepatica were a new discovery!

Some promising mysteries...

Borga's not as light on her feet as she used to be and slid right off the boardwalk!

It was 74 degrees that day, and today won't climb out of the 30s.  I like to save cat grass for these cold, grey days.  Cat grass isn't grass, exactly.  It's a mix of wheat, barley, rye, oats, and/or other grains.  It grows more rapidly than anything I've ever planted.  If you plant cat grass, you'll see green in two days.  It grows for several days and doesn't start looking sad for close to two weeks.

I bought cat grass for Bosewichte years ago.

Our kittens have never eaten grass, though, so presumably aren't as susceptible to temptation.  Besides, they're a lot sleepier during these overcast days, so there are more opportunities to sneak something new into their environment!

Cat grass is shallow-rooted, so it can be grown in almost anything.  I'd seen it sprouted in eggshells for a nice Easter/spring centerpiece and decided to try it.

I can't believe how easy it was.  I saved eggshells for a week, rinsed them out, and let them air dry.  I used my glue gun to hot-glue the shells together in a pleasing configuration.  The glue dries almost instantly, so it was a breeze to pop them together.  I spooned in damp soil, sprinkled my seeds, and topped off with a bit more soil.  I placed them on a heat pad for a couple of days (you could use a hot water bottle or even a sunny window sill), and boom:  instant spring!

I spritz in some water every couple of days and they're fine...even in a fairly dim room.  I think they're so festive!

I'm going to start some "singles" in white egg cups.  Beautiful on a window sill or next to your computer...as long as you don't have curious cats!  

It's a nice progression from the paperwhites I like to grow in the winter.  It's hard to go very long without a little bit of green in the house!

Another chilly week ahead, but hopefully we'll be able to do some exploring again soon.

Have a great week!

rainbow bright

Bosewichte had a nice treat today. 

I planted some wheatgrass earlier this week.  Cats love it and I love how "SPRING!!!" it looks.  The roots are so shallow that the seeds will grow in anything (I've even seen it grown in eggshells!).  I had a natural wood tray with some tiny ceramic inserts that were perfect.

It grows fast. After just a day...

Check it out!

I have so many things growing inside in pots...one of my favorite March traditions.

I've got bulbs potted up on the front porch, too, and delightful patches of green are poking up all over the front garden!

I checked my little greenhouses, and was rewarded with some exciting growth.

Unfortunately, the soil is too wet.  I must've added too much water when I  prepared the soil mixture.  Certainly most of the seeds will rot, and it's too cool to open the greenhouse tops to evaporate out some of that water.  But now I know for next year, and I still have plenty of seeds to direct-sow in the garden this April.

Still seeing more signs of life out on the hiking trails...

And it's nearly St. Patrick's Day!  I made a batch of my annual St. Patrick's Day cookies a few days ago.  They're easy - a batch of vanilla cookie dough, split and rainbow colored, molded into a long cookie "snake" and encased in chocolate cookie dough.

They're slice and bake.

I may have pre-sampled one. YUM.

If I can get organized in time, I will also make corned beef/cabbage and Irish soda bread, although the corned beef and cabbage combo, at least, is not really an Irish (more of an Irish-American) tradition.  It's still a fun thing to do!

It's nice to have something to focus on, because the coronavirus issue is definitely concerning.  Todd and I are lucky...we don't have kids to find childcare for, we always work from home, and our business does not tend to be affected by downturns of the economy.  We're still taking precautions...practicing a little social distancing (one of my favorite things to do, anyway)...and keeping our loved ones close!

We have families and friends that we're worried about, and are concerned about all of the hourly workers that may be facing financial hardships due to restaurant and business closings...the kids who only get a square meal in school, and now school is cancelled indefinitely...those in the tourism trades that suddenly have nothing to do...and many, many others, especially those in other countries whose lives have been completely changed by the virus.  I hope that this self-imposed semi-quarantine arrests the virus here and that life can go back to normal soon.

Stay safe, everyone!