We’re 7°C today amd brilliant sunshine. We’ve been JUST above or just below zero for a couple weeks now, and tomorrow we’re supposed to hit 12°. It’s probably false spring and false hope, but it’s welcome all the same.

This was a couple weeks ago. March is bird nesting season, and one of the things I was determined to accomplished this year was to provide nesting boxes in the orchard space. I acquired 7 houses, but most of my trees are still too small to support the weight, so I have one in the kiwi arbor space (right) and one in mom’s vineyard (left) on the poles we installed 2 years ago.

I installed this one on the “duck hut” or goat shelter or whatever this structure will eventually be. No inhabitants yet, but it’s cute to look at.

Given how compromised the greenhouse is, and also given that I wanted to use it for seed starting this year, I purchased and installed these two mini-greenhouses inside the main greenhouse (tied down because wind). In the lefthand one, you see a clear bin on the shelf. This bin contains my planted tomatoes and peppers. 3 layers of greenhousing.And boy does it get hot in there! I’m hoping not TOO hot…

So far, of the seventy-two (so far) types of non-veggie seeds I have to plant, I have planted about 45 (plus the tomatoes and peppers).I’m doing good. I have another 12 varieties to plant sometime this week or next. Then the veggie seeds late next month.

I had a walk through the orchard yesterday, and it doesnt look like I lost much over the winter. The herbaceous things I wont know until they either come up or dont, of course, but the trees and shrubs look good. Most are budding up nicely. My overwintered-in-the-greenhouse things seem to have done very well. The schisandra and chanomeles japonica are budding up beautifully. The Chanomeles (flowering Japanese Quince) is actually heading rapidly toward bud break. Which is good. Because I am very much at the “COME ON! GROW ALREADY!!” stage, and none of my seeds have germinated yet, so I need something to exult over.

I am planning now how many fenceposts I need to have on hand for immediate the ground thaws. 13 should do it, I think. 4 to fix the greenhouse (or at least create the framework therefore), 3-4 for the schisandra fence, 4 for the vineyard, and 1 for hanging the kiddo’s bee house/ creating the bee garden around.

We also need at least 2 hog panels. Probably 3, but at least 2 for sure, to serve as trellising for the kiddos’ veggie beds. Among other things, they chose to grow asparagus beans (yardlong) this year and those most definitely need to grow UP. I also have honeysuckle coming in come planting season, so I will need something for that to grow on.

I am most anxious to see how the things I put out in the nursery bed in the fall will do. If those come up well, I’ll have many fun things to play with.

It’s all terribly muck-and-dogpoo outside, of course, but all the same, hope is in the air.