Rolling with the Changes

Things are changing in my little world.  I foresee lots of upheaval on the horizon.  I haven't really figured out how to talk about exactly what is happening other than it will change a really big part of my life.  I will blog about it eventually when I get a little distance and perspective. So, until then, I'm keeping this in mind.

In light of the changes on the way, I've changed the name of the blog.  'Almost an Acreage' was a silly title that I put up there because I had to name it something.  The new name is more fitting and has more meaning.  Mostly because my husband and I say it every blessed time we come home.

We come around the corner and down our street to the house and one or both of us says, "Here's our little slice!" followed by smiles and knowing glances.   I can't imagine that there is another couple in the whole world so pleased every time they come within view of their home.  I do imagine that most people see a house as a place to live.  This little place means so much more than that to us.

The place is really small.  We're on a 75 foot by 75 foot lot.  Not anywhere near an acreage of any kind.  But we pack a lot of living in our little space.

In other news, spring is springing!  Today we took a trip to the home store and along with some other things, I brought home these little lovelies:

Starry Night Viola

Blue Moon Viola

I have a special place in my heart for violas.  My paternal grandmother's name was Viola.  Actually, Viola was her middle name. Her first name was Temperance. But, I didn't know that until long after she was dead.  I'm told she absolutely hated it.  I can only imagine the fire daggers from her eyes if I had called her Temperance...or 'Tempie' as she was known as a child.

Okay, time to change the subject.  She'll probably come back and haunt me for that.  Maybe I can keep her at bay with this:

Grandma's fine-leaved peonies

Last fall, I rescued Grandma's fine-leaved peonies from the drought stricken garden at her house in The Burg.  They have emerged from the ground in their new homes and are growing well.  It even looks like they might flower this year already.

In the greenhouse, the seedlings are coming along splendidly.  The tomatoes have all germinated and are finally starting to grow their first true leaves. Low light conditions on the kitchen shelf made them a wee bit spindly.  I'll plant them extra deep in the garden bed when the time comes and they'll grow lots more roots along that spindly stem.

"We're not really this pale.  It's just the lighting."

The sweet peppers have sprouted as well.  For some reason, the hot peppers aren't growing yet.  I'm hopeful that they're just being picky about the temperature.  It's been difficult to moderate the temperature in the greenhouse so I moved them back inside until they germinate.  Just in case they don't, I bought a six pack of chili peppers today.  I'll have to find some jalapenos if worse comes to worst.

I keep things well watered in the greenhouse with this spiffy red watering can.  My husband (the best husband EVER) got me this watering can for Valentine's Day.  Is that love or what?

I don't know about you, but for me spring just isn't spring without berries!  Here we have the first strawberries peaking out from under their leafy mulch.  Below that is a shot of the gooseberry bush I planted last year with its first flush of leaves.  Berries might be my favorite fruit.  Maybe that's why I've planted six different kinds.

Baby strawberries.

Pixwell gooseberry bush.

This year, spring brings a lot of new changes for us and our little slice.  All will be well, I'm sure, but it might be a long, tough row to hoe.

It doesn't really fit here, but I'll leave you with this gem because I love it.  Rock on!

Mid-spring Garden Update

Yeah, you'd never know it from the weather forecast, but it really is mid-spring.  I hear we're expecting a couple inches of snow tomorrow night.  What a bother.  I'll have to be out and about covering plants, I guess.

You see, I paid attention to the weather forecast this weekend.  It said nothing about a cold front or the potential for snow in the near future.  I figured we might be done.  We'll see about that.  But the problem is I set all my pretty little pepper seedlings out in their pots this weekend.

I'm a numbskull.  Yep.  I did it.

But that's not the update part:

• We finally finished up the much anticipated berry bed!  I have room for 3 raspberries, a gooseberry and about 18 strawberry plants one of which has given me a berry already.

• Although it's not strictly a part of the garden per se, we planted a State Fair apple tree on Friday.  It was Arbor Day after all.  And I wanted an apple tree.  Like my little white painted wire fences around my tree and new shrubs?  Yeah, I thought of that all by myself.  You can use it if you want.

• The bush cherries I ordered arrived last week and I got them in the ground on Saturday.  Little sticks with tiny little buds on them.  I noticed last night that some of the buds are becoming leaves already.
• The early plantings are thriving in the cool and damp spring we've had so far.  The onions have never looked better.  Every single onion, garlic clove and shallot I planted has sprouted, I think.  The peas are finally growing and the spinach is finally getting actual leaves.  We thinned the radishes last night and munched on the thinnings.  Very radish-y.  It has me reconsidering trying my hand at growing sprouts in the kitchen.  I can imagine how wonderful radish sprouts would be in stir fry.

• I'm trying brussel sprouts for the first time this year.  That's them under the milk jugs.  Long ago, a friend of mine grew some in his garden and I remember thinking they looked a little like aliens when I discovered them hanging in his garage in November.  He was still getting sprouts at Thanksgiving.  I'm not a big fan of sprouts, but maybe if I grow my own, I could be.  I never liked tomatoes until I grew my own.  I know, right?  Crazy.
• The only thing I'm concerned about are my potatoes.  I haven't seen a single sprout out of them yet.  Maybe they rotted in the pots?  Maybe they're taking their sweet time?  I'll give them awhile yet.  It's still early and it's been unseasonably cold.

So that's where I'm at.  I was hopeful to get some more planting done this weekend but between the rain and potential snow, I doubt it.  My tomatoes will have to wait another week or so.

And now, here is a lovely picture of my new fish:

Weekends

If you need me, I'll be in the garden.

Ah! The Weekend.  I see it in my head that way with capitol letters.

It's pretty glorious: Two whole days of not driving for 3 hours a day and not spending 8.5 hours struggling and raging against the machine. My garden beckons and my dogs pounce and bounce with delight when, on Saturday morning, I emerge from my bedroom and dig out a couple scoops of dog chow and start the coffee pot with my current favorite weekend brew.

Of course, there are the usual chores and all those things I have to do to keep things moving as smoothly as possible.  It is really nice to have a couple days that I am not expected anywhere in particular nor do I have to complete anything under a deadline.  The time is more or less all mine and that in itself is relaxing.


But for me, the real quality time happens in the evenings on the weekends.  The pretty much self-imposed demands of the day have been met...or ignored and I'm free to enjoy some time just enjoying my life.

The picture above is the garden we started building this spring as it looks in the early evening hours this time of year.  This garden space along with the covered patio you can't really see in the picture takes up about one third of the space in what serves as our back yard. The neighbor's house and tree gives us some much-welcomed shade along about five or six o'clock We were a little worried that there wouldn't be enough sun to grow tomatoes.

As if.  Apparently there was no cause for alarm as we have tons of little green tomatoes coming on.  I know I keep mentioning the little green tomatoes but I can't help it.  Last fall was a long time ago.

The shed in the back was there when we bought the house. The little herb garden that you can almost see in the upper left area was put in last year as an experiment.  But everything else is new this year. I am ecstatic about these developments and have so many more things planned for the next few years. This year, we're hoping to get a couple more beds put in and some more fence work done.

Oops! Time for my Saturday afternoon lounge around the garden.  I'd better get my iced tea and head out!  I'm taking my tomato basket just in case.

Have a good one!