Reflections

I woke with a start a bit after dawn this morning, thinking "It's time to plant!" It's cold and a little foggy this morning and ten minutes out tending the chickens basic needs (clean water in the can and letting them out to a grassy patch) had my fingertips frozen. We've just come off of a very cold spell, with a little snow and temps in the 29 - 34 degree (F) range sometimes in the daytime but definitely during the overnights. Still, there are some chard and lettuce plants hanging in there, small, thick-leafed and nestled in the most sheltered bed, which over-wintered and have survived the freeze. I came back inside, made my coffee, and checked out last year's posts from March. I am only one day past the day I started last year's indoor squash and eggplant seeds, so it IS time to plant! Do you suppose my subconscious keeps that calendar? So now my weekend is lined out: feed store (chickens need feed) and pick up some seeds (squash, cucs, peas, chard, lettuce, spinach). Plant the peas outside (this means clearing out the sheet compost layer where I want them and putting up a bamboo trellis). Clear out the back salad garden area and plant the spinach, chard and lettuce, and cover with a layer of wire fencing (against the cats, deer,birds and other critters interested in disturbed earth or new green tips when they emerge).