lettuce get ready...

 It's crunch time!  Now we're reliably in the 70s and lower 80s, and I'm working just as quickly as I can to weed, mulch, and plant in the beds surrounding the house.  I'm 2/3 of the way through the largest bed.

From winter sowing, I have plenty of bachelor buttons, snapdragons, and nicotiana, and I'm flinging them into bare spaces as I weed.  I'm putting in 3 hours at a time and it's a lot of work.  My body aches, my fingernails are constantly black, my cuticles are dry and splitting from the gloves, and Todd picked the season's first tick off my back yesterday...but the work is moving ahead and I'm really pleased with the progress.

I gathered up my dahlia tubers from last year...cleaned them up...and put them in trays to see if any were viable.

This was a good sign...

After three weeks, several had sprouted. 

I cut the sprout, dipped it in rooting hormone, potted it up, and put it on my heat mat.  Ditto for the rest of the sprouts.  They're looking pretty limp right now, but hopefully they'll perk up soon and root.  I also planted my edible crop yesterday:  cantaloupe, zucchini, watermelon, peppers, 10+ types of tomatoes, and the herbs - all in small plastic containers, put on the heat mats.  Nice to get a head start on these for summer!  

Some nice things popping up outside...my lupine, which I winter-sowed years ago:

The cranesbill that I planted a few years ago in multiple clumps is growing really well too!  Nearly ready to pop!

Makes nice bouquets too.

I'm still seeing our possum every day, but no babies yet.

But we did have babies this week...goz!!  A nesting pair hung around our front pond for a couple of days.

I miss the goz from our South Carolina house - they came back year after year and weren't a bit afraid of us - so this was so nice to see.  After a day or so, they slipped into the stream that runs through the side of the property and headed for a new resting place!  I think that Claudia was watching them a bit too closely for their comfort.  She's the property manager around here!

Speaking of green and growing, I was cooking with cabbage this week and noticing how pretty the leaves were...

I am a HUGE fan of lettuce ware/cabbage ware.  I used to have some, but the pieces got broken with our multiple moves.  I'm dying to get a few pieces from this fancy set:

photo courtesy of Petit Haus

It's Dodie Thayer and costs tens of thousands of dollars...but it's so whimsical! Wouldn't it be fun to eat from these dishes?

photo courtesy of Petit Haus

The next level of affordability (Tory Burch) loses a lot of the whimsy, in my opinion.

photo courtesy of Petit Haus

The most affordable line (Bordallo Pinheiro) is flat-out wrong, from the color to the design...for me, anyway!

photo courtesy of Petit Haus

I'm still hoping to come across a few authentic Dodie Thayer pieces someday.  It would be just perfect for summer dining!

Have a great week!

a narrow fellow in the grass

I've enjoyed seeing the winter and spring birds as the season progresses...the sassy titmouse, the gentle cardinal, the darting bluebird, and of course, the ever-present geese.

But, of course, I have been eagerly waiting for the little creepy-crawlies that only come out with warm weather.  I was weeding the other day when I came across this beauty:

This is Sigmoria aberrans, more commonly known as a type of millipede.  What's the difference between millipedes and centipedes?  Well, centipedes have longer legs, eat other insects, and can give you a nasty bite if bothered.  Millipedes have more legs and eat decaying plants. At least one variety of millipede secretes cyanide as a defense mechanism!  Not this guy, though.  He's known as the "almond millipede" and secretes a chemical that smells exactly like almonds. 

The humble pillbug is more interesting than you'd think, too.  I'm sure you know that they can roll their body into a complete circle to thwart predators.  But did you know that they're crustaceans, and breathe through gills?

Also, pillbugs don't urinate.  They pass the ammonia in gaseous form directly through their exoskeleton.  Pretty interesting! 

I saw this moth on our brick walkway this week.

I know that it's a snout-nosed moth...

...but there are so many different types of moths, it's almost impossible to identify them until you have a detailed guide.  I'll have to keep looking!

Of course, with the warm weather came the appearance of giant fish in our pond.  Todd estimates that some of them are three feet long...and he doesn't exaggerate like I do!  :)

I was raking leaves this weekend when I encountered this little guy.

I'm not generally afraid of snakes, but I like to know where they are, and if they fall into one of the main four venomous snake categories (cottonmouth, coral snake, rattlesnake, and copperhead).  Venomous snakes have triangle-shaped heads and tend to be patterned.  This snake is completely safe.  He's a brown snake (Storeria dekayi), easily identified by the twin brown lines running down his spine.

 See?  He just wants to be on his way.

Here we have evidence of another little creature:

That's right, the resident beaver is slowly cutting down our trees.

We're going to put chicken wire around the bases so that he can no longer get a tooth-hold.

The warm weather has been great for my plants.  The few herbs that I planted grew quickly.

I separated them out into roomier quarters and they're growing like crazy.

I've also found mint, oregano, and rosemary - lots of rosemary - in the garden.  I love stumbling across them!

Most of the azalea flowers have wilted...

...but my clematis are blooming like crazy.  This variety appears to be Nelly Moser.

Irises are popping up in the side yard and making cheerful bouquets.

Different types of sedum are filling in the bare spots in the rock walls and walkways...

Love!  The ferns in the side garden are absolutely magnificent.

We have another type of fern that sends up a dark stalk that almost reminds me of a clenched starfish:

They aren't cinnamon ferns, but I'm not sure what kind they are.

The dogwoods are blooming...

...and the magnolias are just getting ready to pop.

I can't wait to see them in action!

I still hope to have time to post a 'recipe edition' in the next week or so.  Meanwhile, I hope you're enjoying your own spring days.  Have a great week! 

Azalea Regalia

Spring has definitely sprung in South Carolina, and Todd and I have started eating out in the sun room so we can listen to the birds and enjoy the breeze.

Our early-blooming azaleas have all vividly come to life.

Azaleas, azaleas, everywhere.

It's got me asking the question:  how did I ever live without azaleas?

Sigh...they're so lovely.

They've definitely found a major place in my weekly bouquets.

The dogwoods are starting to bloom in long white drifts.  I bet they'll all be open by the weekend.

Remember this mystery bud?  It has progressed nicely.

They're leaves, not flowers!  It's so nice to see all the green.

 I've been taking advantage of every sunny place.  I've planted the window box:

I've filled the greenhouse window over the sink:

I've filled a small table behind our couch:

Our front steps are full of flowers, and we've got flowers in the sun room and on the patio.  How can I afford so many flowers?  Well, I can't.  Every single plant we have was in the clearance bin at some store, or propagated by me for pennies.  Clearance flowers are so easy to revive.  They're usually just in need of a little water and pruning and they snap back into shape.  I purchased two giant pots (10" across) of "Christmas pansies" at Lowe's for $2 each in January.  Both are STILL blooming beautifully. 

This giant fern was $40 - $50 at Walmart...dragged out of the clearance bin and mine for $9.  I'm repotting it in a bigger container today!

 These plants were all dragged out of the Lowe's clearance bin this weekend.

$6 hydrangeas (I bought 4)!  $3 columbines!  Dried-out succulents for $1!  These are perennials, which means that you can revive them now and they'll be with you as long as you can keep them alive.  I'm begging you:  raid those clearance bins!  Just not the ones around Anderson, South Carolina.  ;)

What I don't get from the clearance bin, I grow myself.  I planted a few inexpensive herbs a few weeks ago:

They needed some space, so I thinned them out and now they're growing happily on my patio.  I don't need so many herbs for cooking, so I'll use the extras in bouquets to add a little green.  Of course, they'll go to seed in the fall...I'll collect the seeds and do it all over again.

I've sowed seeds from last year - and a few new ones - on the patio.  A $10 seed investment, 220 perennial flowers planted, and hopefully all will grow.

I'm propagating all of my succulents in a sunny window.  They'll grow roots and make new plants...free!

It doesn't take any skill, much money, or much time.  The only thing you have to remember to do is water them!  I hope you'll give it a try!

I've been using my binoculars to watch birds down by the pond.  We've got lots of water birds:  geese, ducks, kingfishers, and herons.  What looks nice to the naked eye...

...doesn't hold up well under binocular scrutiny.

That's right...the current carries all sorts of trash to our edge of the pond and deposits it there.  It's pretty disgusting.

We've both been pretty busy, but this weekend I told Todd that we couldn't wait any longer to clean up that mess.  While I held the trash bag, Todd caught all of the trash up in the rake.

It took about 30 minutes to get it all cleaned up...I couldn't believe the trash filled an entire bag!

It looked so much better after we finished.

I was gratified to see a family of turtles moving in the very next day, hanging out on a log that had previously been bobbing in a sea of trash.  We'll keep up on it so that it doesn't become so messy again.

I hope you've got some flowers in your neck of the woods.  Have a great week!