Tuesday, April 10, 2018

The Seedlings Are Popping Out All Oh-Oh-ver!

The first broccoli seeds I planted on the 4th of the month started popping up two days later.  Then the cauliflower joined in.  This morning I saw the first little sprout of a cherry tomato seed (also planted on the 4th) pushing through the soilless mix.  No peppers yet, but I'm hoping they start soon.


A veritable forest sprouting forth.  Moreless.


Puny in size yet, granted, but where there's life, 
there's hope for greater things to come.

* * * * * * * *

Lots of sun  was shining down upon on us Sunday afternoon when Papa Pea and I decided to go on a hike to get some exercise and fresh air.  There's a nice creek that runs on the far west side of the property that abuts ours on one side.  It comes out of the woods and runs into a big culvert under the road in front of our property.  We knew the creek was still frozen so thought it would be easy to hike up it a ways.

Yep, the creek was certainly frozen solid, but we mistakenly thought there would be a good snow covering on it which would make it easy to walk on.  Wrong.

The whole creek was one totally shiny, slick, smooth ribbon of ice.  It looked just like a manicured skating rink, perfectly flat sloping slightly downhill.  We thought we might be able to walk up it by staying on the side in the snow, off the ice, but the banks were way too steep so that proved impossible.  We hiked through the woods alongside the creek hoping to find better footing on the creek as we went up the hill toward the ridge in back of our place. 

No such luck, and the going through the woods was so thick with evergreen trees and underbrush that it was difficult walking.  

In the woods, the snow was not so deep that we couldn't make it, but we would have been better off with our snowshoes, although again, the thick brush would have made snowshoes less than ideal.  

Eventually, we kind of gave up, found a place where we had to literally slide down the bank, very carefully shuffle across the creek like a couple of old crogglers, climb up the opposite bank (no easy task) and head home through the woods.  All in all, we still got a lot of exercise and fresh air so it was a good outing. 

* * * * * * * *


Chicken Mama and Gilligan will be here for lunch today so I made a rhubarb pie first thing this morning.  (No, not from fresh rhubarb but from a bag of rhubarb pie mix I had in the freezer from last summer.)  That for dessert along with a main meal of chicken squares, chicken gravy, cranberry sauce and green beans (boy, do I still have a lot of green beans from last year's garden in the freezer) and all involved should be happy.

Papa Pea and I hope to put in some work on next season's wood supply today.  Our back wood working area is usually too wet and muddy this early in the season, but because of no great amount of snow for us this winter, it's already dried out nicely.

We felt a real heat wave this morning upon arising when we noticed the thermometer read 24 degrees.  A bit of a change from the single digit numbers we've been having.  

The sun is shining again to it's gonna be a good day.  Hope yours is, too!

15 comments:

Susan said...

Wish I had seen you two croggling across the creek! Sounds like you got a workout, too. It does say something about this winter when we are thrilled when the temperatures are in the 20s. I woke up this morning to 27 degrees and was downright jubilant. Until I looked out and noticed it was snowing. Wah!

Michelle said...

I think you should have hiked to the top and skated down! :-D

Rain said...

Hi Mama Pea :) I wish I could have been along for that hike! We can't quite go into the woods yet, still too much snow, in fact it's snowing again as I type this...hmmm...ice age forthcoming???? Time to panic??? ;)

Your pie looks yummy! And yay for seedlings!!! :)

Mama Pea said...

Susan - We had our first snow in weeks overnight. But, fortunately for us, it was only a dusting. Can't imagine what you're feeling about the weather right now but I know I was not happy to see the ground all white again!

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - I thought about that (I really did) but not for long. The creek is so twisty and turny with rocks on the sides that I no doubt would have done myself great bodily harm!

Mama Pea said...

Rain - Nah, you must be mistaken. Don't you know we're experiencing global warming? (Really strange, though, how so many people are experiencing more winter snow and colder temperatures. Hmmmmm.)

There's one piece of pie left. Want it? ;o)

Rain said...

Yes! I want it!!! :)

wisps of words said...

Sigh... Lost comment again... sighhhhhh wonder why this happens so often here????????????????

Wonderful seedlings, and pie, and meal. Scary trek around your land.

that's abbreviated version of comment that disappeared.

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

I am going to live vicariously through you and Rain this year for seedlings and gardening! :)

That sounds like a proper workout that trek through the woods.

Lunch sounds like it will be well received!!

Mama Pea said...

Rain - Ooops! All gone.

Mama Pea said...

wisps of words - Well, darn. I don't know why you keep having this trouble. No one else commenting here has mentioned the same thing.

I'm still having trouble getting a reply box to answer comments. I press "reply" and have to wait two or three minutes (every time) before I can write my comment. It's driving me nuts.

I know Blogger has been having all kinds of weird problems but it seems they don't care. Different difficulties have been reported, but nothing is done about them. :o(

Mama Pea said...

MrsDM - I think you're making such a wise decision not to over-extend yourself and put in a garden this year. Rain and I will share our surplus with you. ;o)

During our trek last Sunday, my calf muscles were telling me they hadn't had a workout like that for a while and I thought I might have some residual strain or pain but I didn't. For which I was rather happy. :o)

wisps of words said...

LOL I just wrote "Mama Pea we are"... And my comment went POOF! LOL

wisps of words said...

OK, try to get my message to Publish. ,-)

We are in mid-NYS. To the east side of it. And we are having cold, rainy weather. Brrrrrrr... The guys need to get the chicken run built, and ... -sigh-. Gotta' cause one "gal" keeps getting out, by flying over. -chuckle- If she is hawk-meat, there will only be 2 left!!!!

Mama Pea said...

wisps of words - I'm going to ask my computer guru daughter is there is any reason she knows of that your comments so often go "poof" before you can finish and send them. How frustrating. But I'm so glad you keep trying!

Did the crew get the chicken run built? I hope so. Having only three chickens makes it really a blow to lose even one!

Okay, now I have you placed in the northeast. Thanks for the info. No rain here, just snow flurries all day but only amounting to under 2" . . . so far.