Daring To Be Optimistic

Dare I hope spring is finally really here? Am I dooming us to more icky weather by uttering the word spring? To that second question, I certainly hope not! I’m pretty sure I don’t possess the power to jinx all of northeastern Montana. If I had power over the weather, I’m sure I’d have been misusing it.

A lot has been accomplished up here at Honrud, Montana, since last I wrote. The garden space has been tilled. Does anything smell as nice as freshly turned soil? Okay, maybe the air after a nice rain does. The drip system is staked in place so I should be able to plant nice straight rows. The electric fence posts I’d pulled in order to till are pounded back in place and the wires restrung. The solar chargers are attached, although I haven’t worked up the courage to grasp a wire to see if they’re working. Dennis may have to recharge those batteries.

I discovered using my lightweight battery powered blower works really great for clearing dead leaves from the flowerbeds, as well as the raspberry canes and the other permanent rows of the garden (honey berries, asparagus, rhubarb). Why have I spent hours upon hours on hands and knees using a hand trowel to rake out those dead leaves? I should be ashamed to admit this, but I’m not. I don’t have to worry about the noise bothering any neighbors. Of course, you have to pay attention when up against a wall or you’ll get a face full of dirt. Word to the wise…

A few onion sets are planted. I space those out over a few weeks to extend the harvest so we can enjoy green onions longer. The pea seeds are soaking in jars of water. I have three varieties, regular, sugar snap, and Chinese. I’m writing this on Sunday, and plan to get those in the ground Monday. Of course, I have to flexible as Dennis plans to move the wheat seeding equipment to the field Monday morning. That means I’ll have flagman duty.

Besides resetting fence posts on the perimeter, I also set up three shorter fences inside the garden. (Fencepost pounding is a muscle-building activity.) They’re in adjoining rows. The center one is where I’ll plant peas, along both sides. One outer one is chicken wire, and I’ll plant my gladioli bulbs alongside that one. The other outer one will get netting added, and I’ll plant scarlet runner beans by that one. Once the peas are flowering and starting to form pods, I’ll put netting over the top and ends, to thwart the birds that have been stealing all my peas the past several years.

I was excited last Friday to see the asparagus coming up. The old stalks from last year had trapped lots of leaves, so once those were blown away and the dead stalks pulled, I could see lots of green shoots coming. I ate a few (raw) that I accidentally broke.

The rhubarb is growing by leaps and bounds. I’m dusting off my rhubarb recipes. I need to use up what I have in the freezer, too. One plot of rhubarb is currently nestled under a large upended flowerpot. I’d read that it’s supposed to make it sweeter. We’ll see.

The honeyberry bushes are leafing out and blooming. The Nanking cherries were crushed by the snow and suffered a lot of broken limbs. Other limbs have been girdled by something gnawing on them. We’re not sure whether to blame voles or rabbits.

As usual each spring, I forgot to dress properly before going out to trim the dead canes from the raspberry rows. Consequently, both forearms and both shins are deeply scratched. I look like I’ve been tussling with a playful kitten. There were a lot of canes damaged last fall when the neighbor’s large blind dog wandered into there. I’m sure he panicked when the thorns kept getting him and he couldn’t find his way out. Luckily, my patch is huge and so I expect I’ll still get plenty of raspberries in July. And the dog survived and was really happy to hear his master’s voice.