Before Spring Time . . .

 Most often we know spring time is coming when the month of March arrives and we get inches of beautiful, wet snowfalls.

This happened last Wednesday when we woke to about 10" of the stuff.

I took this shot through a kitchen window over the evergreen boughs in a window box.  It sure was pretty!

Papa Pea had his work cut out for him.  He was concerned that perhaps our good, old (very old) Gravely garden tractor with snow blower attachment wouldn't be able to handle the heavy, wet snow.

But once again, our trusty Gravely proved its worth and saved a lot of hand shoveling close up against buildings.

The truck with plow blade was used on the driveway, of course.  Even so, it was some of the most difficult plowing of the winter.

But that's the characteristics of our March snows.  And, yes, they really do herald the coming of our spring season.  We're sure it's under there somewhere just waiting to burst forth.

Currently . . .

A couple of days ago we donned our snowshoes and took a walk around the perimeter of the 7' high deer fencing that surrounds our gardens, fruit trees and miscellaneous growing areas.

 

The results were a bit disheartening, but expected.  This fence has done stalwart duty for over twenty years so we can't begrudge the fact that it has to be replaced this spring or as soon as we can muckle it.

 

In places it's now come loose from the steel posts holding it upright, and there are a few holes that have been haphazardly patched over the years.  Now the patches need patches.

 

When walking along the southern most part, we made a detour into the woods to reacquaint ourselves with the markers indicating that border of our property.  Papa Pea has a desire to take out some of the underbrush and tallest trees in that area so more of the precious sunlight can reach that end of our gardens.  It's always hard for me to agree with cutting down any trees, but I can see what he means about making sure we get as much sunshine and warmth on the soil and growing plants as possible because our season is so very short.

 

I'm not sure why but I'm finding myself more eager for the coming gardening season than I have been in years, but I am.  It's not that I haven't, in previous years, managed to grow a good amount of our crops.  We still have ample supplies on the pantry shelves and in the freezer.  

 

Although I did get a surprise this morning when I went into the freezer to pull out Stuffed Green Peppers for a company dinner tonight.  Yikes, I plumb emptied the container taking out the last of them needed.  I'll have to go back in my records to find out how many I made last season . . . and make a few more this time around! 

Still Here

I've been AWOL for a while here on my blog.  No excuse other than I've felt I've had nothing of interest to share.

 

Not that life has been devoid of happenings.  The past few weeks have been busy as usual.  Perhaps even a bit more so than usual.  Full of ups and downs as it seems to be for everyone these days.

 

This is a slow time of year (or as slow as it gets anyway) what with winter winding down, although warm weather is still months in the future for us here in northern Minnesota.

 

Nonetheless, I woke this morning thinking of garden plans.  And Papa Pea and I have begun talking of projects for accomplishment in the coming months of weather suitable for working outside.

 

My two biggest "jobs" for this spring, summer and fall days are painting the trim on the house and, of course, our garden.  One which will be, as always, very enjoyable and satisfying for me.  The other?  Let's just say I really don't mind painting but will be glad when the task is done.

 

At the same time, we're also looking forward to many more hours of relaxation and recreation when we don't have to don several layers of clothing and insulated boots before venturing out-of-doors for even the shortest time.  There's much to enjoy in this beautiful area in which we live.  Even just anticipating sitting on the deck with the sun bathing my currently lily-white appendages sounds enticing.

 

The sun is in a position in the sky now where it streams into the kitchen south-facing windows in the morning and lays a lovely pattern on our old, scarred kitchen table.  I'll miss seeing this in a short time when the sun climbs to a different position.

 

I've noticed that it's now light enough at 6 a.m. to be able to see clearly if you wanted to be outside at that hour.  Of course, that's soon to change this coming weekend when our clocks "spring" ahead one hour.

 

It is a time in our life when most folks would say we should be "cutting back" on dreams, goals and new challenges, but we both still feel good (as she beats her chest and proclaims, "Me strong as bull!") and haven't reached that chronological age stage yet when we feel like becoming a bit sedentary.  I have a really hard time realizing that in 6-7 weeks I will be an octogenarian.  And Papa Pea is a year and a half ahead of me.  Just think of all the wisdom we must possess at this ripe old age. 

 

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