Spring's Progress

The great melt has begun and our glaciers are finally starting to recede! March was actually a better month than it usually is up here, but as soon as April arrived it almost seemed like winter had returned! We've had at least three measurable snows already, and one very cold, blustery day. Such things are to be expected here, but it always makes me feel a bit anxious. I think it's just that the coming summer looks so short in comparison with the winter I've just survived, that I feel cheated by every day that isn't spring-like! 😃 

Still, we are a little ahead of last year at this point. The top of my birdbath is visible now, which didn't happen last spring until April 21st! 

I'm looking forward to being able to sit here again! 

The view out the basement door...I just about have to lay down and slide in! The extension cord goes to the sump pump in the well house, which has already been flooding for over a week. There were around 12 inches of water in our snowpack, and we still have 8-10 inches (of water, not snow) to go!

A walk in the woods on April 2nd. This area is almost always wet, sometimes even when it is well below freezing. 

Pixie cups (Cladonia sp.) on an old stump that had just emerged out of the snow. I never really noticed these before, but after seeing a lovely painting by Edith Holden in The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady this winter, I'd been keeping an eye out for them!

And this was our April 4th...a day to be remembered! The wind blew at about 30 mph all day (with many higher gusts, of course) and we just about gave up trying to keep up with the drifting snow. Our porch steps were completely buried under a drift that was so wind-packed I could climb it and barely make tracks! When the snow gets that packed it's about the texture of styrofoam, only much heavier! My greenhouse also had a good-sized drift leaning on one side. It took me 2 days to get it cleared off. 

My father and I had to go down to our neighbor's, and then decided to make a quick trip into town. There were several total whiteouts which were quite scary! This is a picture I took on the way...

It snowed on and off the last few days...in all I think we got another 6-8 inches. And it's the really pretty kind that sticks to everything and makes it look like Christmas! My father took this picture yesterday while out driving...I think it's a beautiful scene, but maybe not for April! 😃

But although I wouldn't guess it was April outside, all my new baby seedlings tell me otherwise! 😊 Normally I would have more than this by now, but I'm running a little behind schedule because of the strategies I have to employ to keep the kittens from destroying/eating everything! Even covering the trays with plastic lids and duct taping them down has not been enough. There's nothing they like better than to get ahold of a newly planted peat pellet and bounce it across the floor! 😁 And the cups are even more impossible as they simply tip them over and have the time of their lives playing in the dirt! When Nastya promptly decapitated the first pepper seedling that emerged, I decided I had to do something else. So I am now keeping my baby plants in another building when they aren't in the greenhouse. The only problem is that the building isn't quite warm enough for heat-loving seeds to germinate, so I still have to do that in the house. So, I've been hiding them on the top shelves in cupboards until they sprout, then moving them right out. It works, only I am limited to starting only 25-50 at a time (depending on the size of the cups)! 

I'm thrilled that I've been getting close to 100% germination on all of my own saved seeds so far! These are Heartsease (Viola tricolor)...

Tomatoes...I don't know what variety these are. Our Amish friends gave us some huge, meaty tomatoes last summer, but they couldn't remember what they were called either. I was amazed that they were able to grow something that size here! Needless to say, I saved seed and am very excited to see how they do in my garden! The poor things emerged just as it turned cold and snowy, so they didn't get to go out to the greenhouse until yesterday. The leaves had taken on a yellowish color from the lack of light, but they were already turning green after a few hours of sunlight yesterday.

Even the flamingo seeds sprouted! 😃 Actually, it's a Castor Bean seedling, grown from some of the seeds I saved last year. Every single one germinated, so if all goes well I'll have 12 plants this summer! (Don't worry, I've been keeping these COMPLETELY AWAY from the kitties)!

The seedlings emerge with the seed leaves (cotyledons) still encased in a thin, paper-like film (that's the best way I can describe it...I'm guessing it is the albumen?). Anyway, when the sun hits them just right, it almost looks like mother-of-pearl!

I wish I could say the same for the germination rates of the peppers, but I know that is asking too much. I'm not sure what the normal germination percentage is for them, but I'm thinking it's somewhere around 75%, and even less for some of the really hot ones. I'm growing 'Ajvarski', a sweet pepper from Macedonia which has become my favorite, and 'Fish', which is new to me. I must confess I'm growing these more for their looks than their taste, although of course I hope they are tasty too! 😁

 

And this is a Love-lies-bleeding seedling. These amazed me by sprouting the very next day after I planted them!

I also have Onion, Celery, Nicotiana, Petunia, and Heliotrope seedlings already growing. And up in the warmth and safety of the cupboards are Garden Balsam, Basil, and Blue Butterfly Peas. Those should be coming up in the next couple of days, and then it will be on to the next batch. As usual, I have soooo many seeds to start this spring! Yet to be planted are Hollyhocks, Spanish Mallow, French Mallow, Marshmallow, Cosmos, Calendulas, Four O'Clocks, Zinnias, Hops, Night Phlox, Horehound, Lemon Balm, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli...I'm sure there's more but I just can't remember them all!!

In the meantime, I'm still enjoying some indoor blooms from my Morning Glories. The plants have started trailing everywhere and are now twining around the curtain rod! And I'm more than happy to let them take over! 😊

I'm very excited to see how much our Spring progresses in the next few days as temperatures rise into the upper 40s and even up to 60 on Saturday! So I'm sure there will another update soon. 😊