Winter

Winter

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Welcome Spring!



Good Morning! Happy Spring! Its a beautiful day here, today, finally my tomatoes will be in the ground. Hopefully so will peppers, and I will finally get my peas planted. I hope its not to late. It has been a busy week trying to get caught up with the work so we can get to the fun stuff. I have all of my flowerbeds cleaned around the house, now to add mulch. I planted zinnias this week in one of the flowerbeds. I have a few more plants in my seed tray that were just to small to plant.
I did get my melons planted too.

So far I have planted a melon called Tigger melon from Baker Creek Seeds. Some other melons like cantaloupe and honeydew and I plan on growing them on a trellis. Just to see how they grow. The one thing we have been able to always grow here is melons. The last time we grew them our kids said, "Please, no more melons."


The other day I walked up on the porch and there on the wall was this little bat.  He slept there all afternoon. Then about twilight, I was sitting there watching and he just woke up and flew away. I have always wanted to see one close up. This is really how tiny he was, when I first saw him I thought it was a big moth.
We also had a swarm of bees show up. They are now in the wall of my shed out there. We are going to have to take the outside part off to get them out if we can. We were waiting for them to settle down before we messed with them. The bee hive is all set up just waiting. I am so glad I kept all of my stuff from my last bee experience. These are very mellow bees. Unlike the kind I had last time that were part killer bee I am sure. Every time I gave them water, they would sting me. I couldn't even walk around them without five wanting to fight.
This bunch is much calmer and act like normal bees. They just can't live in my shed. I am so excited about them. Do you know how good my fruit and garden will do with bees this close to pollinate! Sasha was a young dog the last time we had bees, and she is so allergic to them. I had to keep Benadryl on hand so I could keep her from getting sick. They hated her on sight. These new bees haven't done anything to her and I saw her watching them yesterday and they didn't try to fight her, so these are a good fit.


The trees are finally blooming. For the last 10 years or so they bloomed in late February. This year has been perfect. I just love seeing everything blooming. We have planted 10 fruit trees this year. Ron is going to graft onto our crabapple trees. Our crabapple trees are nicely established so it will be interesting to see what happens.

I bought my own birthday present this year. I have wanted one of these for years. I love my hula hoe, don't get me wrong, but this is the machine for living here. I did almost the whole place yesterday. I was so proud of myself. Though last night was a different story. I got 3 outdoor bikes on my fitbit yesterday and 171 minutes of exercise. Plus the best 20,325 steps. I have never got that before.

Ron was on the tractor and I was doing this and its just amazing to me how much we can get done.
Last year, Ben did all of this with a weed eater. Poor guy, this is so much better. I can't wait to use it again.

I just took my muffins out of the oven now I can put on my farm girl hat and get outside and play in the dirt.
Have a wonderful day,
Kim
“What a happy woman I am, living in a garden, with books, babies, birds and flowers, and plenty of leisure to enjoy them. Sometimes I feel as if I were blest above all my fellows in being able to find happiness so easily."
(Quoted from Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim)”
― Rosamunde Pilcher, The Shell Seekers

14 comments:

Julia said...

I love you new push weed wacker. It makes life a lot easier. I always wanted on of those machine too but never got one. It looks like fun to use.

You have a big head start on me with your garden. We still have lots of snow but I see some daffodils poking out of the ground beside a sheltered spot in the back of the house. They probably won't do much but for me, it's a sign of spring.

God luck with your gardening this year.
Hugs, Julia

Susan Kane said...

I am looking forward to see your crops!

Julia said...

Oops, that should be Good luck with your gardening this year.

Kerin said...

My goodness, that is a great brush cutter! Congrats!
The bat gives me the heebie~jeebies...I'll tell you more about that later.

Way to go on getting so much good exercise in!
Bet it feels great to get outside and work like that. I love days like that when I can go to bed exhausted, but in a good way :)

You are going to have a great garden this year, I just know it!
Best of luck with the bees.
I'm glad that the bees are being nice to sweet Sasha.

~K.

GretchenJoanna said...

This post made me happy! I love seeing the picture of you mowing/whacking, and the fruit blooms!! The bat and the bees... it's great to live on such good farming land and under the blessed and blessing sun.

Carol W. said...

I'll bet it feels so good to get seeds & seedlings planted outside! I was thinking of trying to grow some herbs in little pots on my window sill which gets the morning & afternoon sun. Exercising is great! Keep up the good work! I need to get out & walk more, now that the nice weather is finally here. I see Ben & Meg are back to looking at properties again ... I'm still praying for them. God's blessings to you both.

peggy said...

Send us some of your sunshine, I would so like to plant tomatoes!!!

TheCrankyCrow said...

Your posts are like a breath of fresh air to me, Kim. I want to drink it all in and just “be” there in my head for a little while. Sweet little bat...they are so good for eating the nasty summer bugs, and get such a bad wrap LOL. I am fascinated by bees and bee-keepers, but am afraid I know frightfully little about keeping them. I am anxious to hear how they play into your garden life. Having them in the walls doesn’t sound good to me though LOL.Our temps have become much milder....and much of the snow has melted resulting in some bad flooding in areas here, but we our ground is covered still and it will be a long while before the banks and piles melt. But I have been hearing the cardinals’ song this past week, and it gives me hope. Such a beautiful lady you are....Inside I always knew, but I don’t believe I ever saw a photo of you. Sunday Blessings ~ Robin

TheCrankyCrow said...

PS....Happy (Belated? To-Be?) Birthday!! Mine was this past Thursday...no weed cutters here though. ;-)

Rugs and Pugs said...

You work so hard on your gardens. Your blooms are beautiful.
20K + steps. WOW!!!
I am ready to get in the yard but not something that will happen too soon in northern Ohio. I am a fair weather gardener...lol!

Debbie - Mountain Mama said...

How nice to be able to be out in the garden once more! No such luck here, we got another ten inches of snow this weekend. Hopefully soon!!!

Debbie said...

i LOVE what you are experiencing, it's a tad too early for us....but i will live vicariously through your post!!

that looks like a great bush cutter, i have seen commercials for them. chuck and i always get so much done when we work as a team!!!!

Three Sheep Studio said...

Kim, you have a lot of critters at your homestead !!!
Loved the picture of the bat. How did you fair with the swarm of bees ?
Rose

Pom Pom said...

I don't think you told me about the BAT! Yikes! I am afraid of bats!
Your garden is going to be wonderful!