the latest web series

One of the many things that I love about fall is the increased insect activity as they rush to feed, mate, and nest (or die) before cold weather hits.  Ladybugs will hibernate under tree bark, in rock piles, or in any tight place where they can avoid the frost and the wind (including your walls!).  

Most adult grasshoppers die after laying their eggs in the fall.  You see them in great numbers, hurrying to do what they need to do before a killing frost.

I didn't even notice this guy until I leaned in to admire a thistle plant!

All around, insects are mating as quickly as possible, as our nighttime temperatures dip into the low 50s. 

Both caterpillars and spiders spin webs inside of leaves.

Getting that nectar while they can!

I'm seeing more fall berries, too.

Increased deer foraging...

...and the first touches of color here.

Still, the flowers are going strong in the garden...

...with just a few starting to show signs of going to seed.

It's a great time to take a walk through the back fields...

...or just enjoy the view!

Next week looks miserably hot but at least the days are moving along and October will be here soon. 

Have a great week!

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!  

sow 'n snow

 At last!

It's no more than an inch, but such a pleasure to see!

There's just something about snow.

The pastels of a January sky are so pretty above the white landscape.

I've been working in my new potting space, starting my big winter sowing project.  I'm about a third of the way done, I'd say.  It's enjoyable to have my hands in the dirt again, prepping my little containers...

...seeing all the different shapes and colors of seeds, those little pellets of potential.

This is A - G from my seed stash.

They need the freeze/thaw cycle to improve germination, so they don't mind this at all:

I've got good company while I work...

...and I love my view!

I try to put in an hour per day.  After all, in about 3 weeks I'll be starting some of the same seeds - and a lot of different ones! - under grow lights.  About the time I put those particular grow-light seedlings (hardy annuals) in the ground, it will be time to start the tender annuals under grow lights.  And then...oh boy...getting everything planted.  Planting will start around mid-March and continue through June.  Oh, and we also have to plow a new plot, lay out a drip tape irrigation system, lay down weed suppression/landscape fabric, and mulch...so while it seems odd to be starting in mid-January, there's not a minute to lose!  Thankfully it's all pleasurable work.  Going out to the barn last week, I passed by an unfamiliar green patch in the side garden.  At first I thought it was some sort of weed...

...but, studying it and thinking about what had been growing in that particular area last fall, I realized that it was German Chamomile.  I remembered the tiny white petals surrounding the cheerful yellow faces, the ferny foliage and the lovely light scent that was released whenever I brushed past, and experienced a moment of pure joy.

German Chamomile.  If all else fails, I will at least have the humble German Chamomile! What a delight to look forward to.  And then I think, what if some of the tulips and grape hyacinths that I fall-planted really do bloom?  Because my skills are so scattershot, I have almost no expectations when it comes to things that I plant.  When something does bloom, I am truly surprised and delighted.  So, as I see it, working on these containers is just another way of creating opportunities for joy.  All of my little failures, too, are disappointing, but I learn a little bit more with each disappointment.   I'm working toward something beautiful.  Maybe this will be the year that it all comes together!  If not, well, at least I've got that Chamomile.  :)  

Have a great week!