Happy Spring!

 

Hello, friends.  I hope you've gotten a reprieve from winter, in your little corner of the world, and are seeing signs of Spring days, which is arriving on Tuesday.  Our asparagus has started poking up, and the first few spears have been harvested.  J cleaned out the woodstove, and I was able to supplement all the remaining fruit trees with wood ash.  After finishing, I applied worm castings to a number of fruit trees, and our oldest three blueberries.  We're thankful to have gotten some rain, and were able to switch back to rainwater for our home.  The soap I made for our personal use finished curing, and I've shared some bars with friends.

Our garlic is coming along nicely.  J intends to fertilize it this week.  My canning project last week was our lima beans.  I'd like to get enough on the shelf to last us until weather cools again in the Fall.  I believe I accomplished that with the lima beans.  I plan for there to be a few more rounds of different beans, and at least one of broth canned, before the weather starts heating up.  The peas are coming along too.  Though there are quite a few spots with no plants, I'm still hoping there will be plenty to can some this year.  I wanted to give a shout out to the folks at Hisea.  Their customer service is fantastic, and they stand behind their lifetime guarantee.  Joseph gave me a pair of their boots for Christmas '22, and they're the most comfortable and warm muck boots I've ever had.  I've worn the heck out of them, and the fabric upper recently began separating from the rubber lower in three spots, creating small holes.  They quickly responded, and sent out a replacement pair amazingly quickly.  I first contacted them Tuesday, and had my new boots Saturday.  I highly recommend them, if you need waterproof boots or work shoes.  

The photo at the top of the post shows one of the salads I made for dinner.  Instead of following one of the MM recipes that meal, I just made a salad with what I felt like, which included wild violets and chickweed.  I'll finish up the cleanse this Friday, and am greatly looking forward to potatoes!  Though I've lost a few pounds, I'm disappointed to not see much difference in my hands.  I've been reading and researching some things on both eczema and general health, and will likely be tweaking some things.  I received $2.75 in digital rewards for agreeing to a longer ship time on Amazon.  I experimented with bringing the water lettuce in over the winter, and the plants have survived, but they were on their last legs, so I put them back outside, in the bird fountain.  If it continues to look like it may frost Monday, I'll bring them back in for the night, then set them back out, and hope for the best.  More seeds were planted, and the radishes and tomatoes have begun sprouting.  Wishing you a Happy Spring!