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Or more like Butterflies! The warmth from the sun is waking everything up! Spring bed prep is earnestly underway, and the urge/anxiety to get seeds and transplants into the ground is strong, but my bones tell me to wait and be more patient. My low temps are still low enough that it could mean disaster, even with frost fabric and low tunnels. It has been a 'mild' winter only in precipitation, not in temps and that only means that the soil surface still freezes every night and takes until noon every day to thaw. This means I get time in the mornings to keep sowing more seed flats for when I can plant, prep bags and labels for market season, and plan for all the fun extras I want to dive into this year (like Farm Tours!) before I get to go outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun myself while cleaning beds of the debris I left on them in the fall as an insulator from those very same cold (and snowless) winter nights.  Every warm day brings out the beautiful butterflies, the world feels so much more alive with their little wings fluttering about.  The first of the Daffodils have begun poking up through the frosty morning soil. The first spring prep task is to rake off the old debris from last year before everything gets too big, so it doesn't get damaged while I make way for the fresh growth!  The Tulips are greeting the sunshine and air as well! Last fall was the first year they got planted into their protective wire-lined trenches so fingers crossed they survive the next winter from the voles and gophers!  The perennial Lupines are also beginning to bud and grow out, so the debris removal was a chance to get excited for more and more blooms and seeds! These are the bushes I grew from seed and saved this years Lupine Seeds from and it's a great time to get them planted. They, obviously, don't mind the frost (it still is getting down to 20F here) and it gives them a head start on everything else. Since they are perennials, don't expect too many flowers the first year, but each year the bush comes in bigger and bigger with more and more blooms!  The Dome is almost ready for those special Tomatoes that have been pampered inside under their lights, but first I had to make room by returning some of the pots, stands, and worktables to the hardening off area so that there is more room inside.  One of the key steps, getting the propane heater online, is done! A few nights of testing out which setting is needed depending upon the outside temp so that I have a steady temp of at least 50F inside are paramount before I entrust the care of those growing 'mater plants to the Dragon Dome and the Fire Breather! That involves going out a few times every night to check how it is faring, and so far it's very good and is easily keeping it 55F inside on some of the lower settings even when it is 20F outside!  With a warm and fairly calm day, it was time to start hardening off those baby plants to the strong sun, dry breezes, and also the cooler temps they have been shielded from. Hella was the designated inspector and efficiency supervisor!  The hens also get to enjoy the sunshine as I whittle away at the different tasks that need to be done before mobilizing them on the pasture. Next steps are to remove the front 'safety/snow' panels and pull out those many t-posts that held their runs down through all the wind storms! In the meantime, they don't mind mingling!  And when you wanna get away from the crowds to find your own special treats, it's best to employ the buddy system!  Sometimes the lure of a freshly cleared patch of cool, damp soil amid the warm sunshine is just too good to pass up, even if it means risking getting raked up with all the debris! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm!
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AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
December 2021
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