And so it begins

Last night and today I placed orders for garden seeds and plants. I am ordering from only two places this year, Pinetree and Seed Savers Exchange. And Grandpa's Orchard, once I get a copy of Grow a Little Fruit Tree. If I need anything else (and I'm thinking of pepper plants), I will get them locally.

With that, my gardening mojo is starting to awaken. Sometimes I think I should just give up on the garden, call in a landscaper to make things pretty and easy, and buy my food from the grocery like normal folks do. But this is the first year in a long, long time I can devote almost unlimited hours to the yard and garden, and I want to see what I can do with that. Plus, if I don't garden, what would I do with myself?

Last year the Rouge Vif d'Etamps and Small Sugar pumpkins and the Waltham butternut squash took over the garden, so this year I am trying some hopefully better behaved ones: Bush Delicata, Early Butternut, Orange Magic, and Table Princess squash, and Orange Smoothie pumpkin. I am repeating the blue and red Adirondack potatoes, but adding back in Carola, which I grew several years ago. Otherwise, I am sticking with my usual standbys.

Since I have lost faith that I kept the four garlic varieties I grow properly identified, I ordered fresh bulbs. Yikes! Expensive! If there is any garden plant one should propagate from year to year, it is garlic. Not only will it save money, it is easy to do.

Rats. I just realized I also need to order some blueberry plants to replace the ones that failed last year. Maybe I'll wait to see if the few survivors make it through the winter.

Otherwise, there is not much to do gardenwise besides wait for March to blow in. *sigh*

Winter blahs

This time of year I get inundated with seed catalogs, and usually I spend x amount of time drooling over the color-saturated photos, wishing I could plant one of each. This year, not so much. I have plans for the yard and garden, of course, but not much enthusiasm is developing yet.

Meanwhile, "my" Cooper's hawk has been out and about in the backyard.

Since retirement, I don't spend many daytime hours in what I now refer to as the TV room or den, so I had not seen this handsome fellow of late. There are plenty of sparrows, though, which is what was on the menu. I hope he was successful.

There has been snow, plus some bitterly cold temperatures. Currently, we are enjoying some mild weather, what some refer to as a "January thaw". Otherwise, I am hunkered down with my knitting, binge watching "30 Rock", and hoping Indianapolis makes it to the Superbowl. Go Colts!