garden dreams & new digs for the girls

it's here.  the weird in-between time of late february/early march.  yes, it's still winter.  it is.  but there are days that are almost short sleeve days and so naturally (and just on time, really) I'm getting that garden itch.  I spent an hour on the fedco website (though their catalog is a most beautiful thing to behold as well) the other night.  I told myself we really only needed new onion, pea, bean, and tomato seeds, but you know how that goes.  I tallied up my cart full of 20ish items and now wait excitedly for the package to come.

we are revamping our raised beds, planning out other beds, at least one with a small hoop house over it, and reorganizing our seed starting/gardening/chickening/beekeeping (and now sugaring!) supplies all into our back shed.  for a while it was storage, and then it sat for a long time while we (I) debated turning it into a chicken coop or a playhouse for Claire.  I know, I know.... and I love my daughter more than the chickens, I do.  I really, really do.  but.  a gardening/chickening/etc'ing shack it has become.  there is a small 'room' in the back corner (I say 'room' only because it has a door separating it, it is almost a closet, really, but with shelves and a window. we think the building was once used as a little cabin of sorts and that was the bathroom) that is now the hens' new nighttime digs.  or, it will be once they grow accustomed to it and actually start going in there at night instead of in their chicken tractor.  Rose laid an egg in there already though, so we're getting there.  just yesterday (a warm and sunshiney day that was much needed following the previous day) we cleaned out the area behind the back shed (which will have to acquire a new and more snappy and fitting name in all of it's newfound glory), moved some fencing around, and moved the chicken tractor (a bit heavy to call a tractor, really, but portable all the same) into the back corner.  the compost piles had to be moved in order to make all of that work, but everything fits more nicely now and the changes free up more of the yard for playing and gardening.  maybe some more fruit trees.  or an aquaponics setup if papa gets his way.

we watched as the bees buzzed about, bringing in baskets of butter-yellow pollen.  I am giddy thinking about splitting the hive back into two once the time is right and maybe actually harvesting some honey this year. (finally!)  add that to our stash of maple syrup (holding somewhat steady at a bit over 2 gallons now after some eating and sharing and gifting), and we are on our way to producing our own sweeteners.  the liquid kinds, anyway.

this year we finally have a dedicated gardening/homestead-type-things notebook.  much nicer and generally more useful year to year, I'm guessing, than the stray pages floating around with previous years' garden sketches.  though the sketch of our garden from last year is still safely secured on our bulletin board for planning purposes for this year.  so far several pages of the notebook have been filled with the details and lessons learned from our inaugural sugaring season.  to that I will soon (very very soon) add our seed starting dates and details.

so, yesterday~  lots of sunshine and moving and shaking in the yard.  and today~ well, today started off with a massage followed by breakfast and tea, popcorn by the fire, snow gently (very gently, almost a mist of snow) falling outside and the promise of a fun dinner out after work this afternoon.  we (the three of us, because that's how we tend to roll) will be taking part in the asheville small plate crawl,  tasting bites from here and there and ending, I'm sure, at the french broad chocolate lounge for dessert.  we'll be bringing someone's pjs and toothbrush along and crossing our fingers that dreamland will find her on the way home.