Spring Brings Work

It's very easy to lose track of time now, isn't it? In farming, one day is much like another, so holidays tend to sneak up on us. I let this Memorial Day ambush me, especially since there wasn't a program for which I needed to play piano. Sure, I'd seen all the references to applauding our military members, appreciating the sacrifices of our veterans for the rest of us, but I kept thinking I had another week before the actual day of honor for them arrived. So I'm apologizing to the staff of the Courier for being late with my column this week. There's a huge difference between a Monday deadline and a Friday one!

This past week has been busy. All spring seasons are. The wheat crop is all in the ground. I wish my garden was. I did get the corn and beans planted, after hand-weeding four rows for them. I can't run the tiller once I have the drip system in place, hence the hand weeding. I find using a hoe is too hard on my back.

The electric fence is hooked up and working. I accidentally hand-tested that. One of the insulators snapped in the storm last week. The top wire was touching the fence post the insulator had been on, causing it to short out. While moving what was left of the insulator away from the post, I came into contact with the wire. That's always a startling event. Luckily, the charge wasn't strong enough to frizz my hair. (I have to rely on rain for that.)

The tomato and pepper plants are in the dirt. Frost cloth is covering the pepper supports. Upended cups are protecting the tomatoes. I opted to not mess with the walls of water this year. Okra and eggplants are also in the ground and surrounded by cups. They're also covered with frost cloth, mostly to protect them from the harsh rays of the sun since I didn't harden them off before planting.

Another cutting of asparagus is in my fridge. They really appreciated that last rain. We didn't get the deluge Glasgow had, but we did get plenty of wind. I lost a great many more tree limbs, and a few shingles showed up on the lawn. Others are sticking straight up on the south edge of the roof. A solid four hours was spent gathering and hauling all the debris from the yard so I could mow the lawn. While mowing, a very cold shower of rain hit, which meant finishing the mowing the next day.

I'm planning on attempting a sugar-free rhubarb pie or other dessert, but haven't had time to find a recipe that sounds right. I might have a recipe to share next week. The cherry bushes are in full bloom. The lilacs are not, but they're covered in buds. I expect flowers soon.

Besides the beautiful orange orioles we had gracing our yard, there was a lazuli bunting visiting the feeder filled with finch seed. That seed looks like regular bird seed, minus any sunflower seeds. Anyway, his feathers are a beautiful blue, his wings have a white strip, and there's a red blush on his breast. Flocks of goldfinches are emptying the nyjer seed feeders they prefer, which means I get to refill those every other day.

I have purchased some bedding plants for my larger planters. It's on my agenda to start planting those tomorrow. Then there are the many houseplants to be hauled out to the back deck to become used to being outside again before being moved to their summer locations. Some will want full sun (ivies, geraniums), some like partial shade (amaryllis, succulents), and some really need to be protected from the wind (my kaffir lily in particular).

Then there's the cooler in my garage containing my remaining gladiola bulbs and the large dahlia tubers. Those need to get put into the ground soon. There are several packets of flower seeds to plant in between veggies in the garden. Those are a necessity to draw in bees and other pollinators.

As I've said more than once, there's always, always more work to do!