The promise of produce...

Almost two weeks since my last post, rain has prevented me from doing much outside - which has been fine by me.  But now that the temperatures look more consistently warm, and the rains seems to be drying up a bit, there is no more putting off outdoor work.  I'm not ready for it, but feeling thankful all the same.

It's good exercise.  My muscles are both telling me how out of shape they still are, and at the same time showing me they are stronger than they were a year ago.  For example, I am able to (fairly) easily get up and down from a kneeling position, which, while it may not be the prettiest of pictures, it sure feels good to recognize I'm more limber than I was last spring.  Remembering the scenario last year, where I was weak (though determined) in the spring, and undeniably stronger by summer and autumn, I'm looking forward to seeing how much stronger I may be come summer and fall this time around.  

Yesterday, I cleaned up the straw mulch I had laid last autumn to protect the strawberry plants from harsh winter weather.  

While I uncovered the plants, I decided to leave some straw under and around the plants this year to see if that improves weed control throughout the summer. 

I originally thought I'd dig up one of three sections in this strawberry bed and replace old plants with new, so I left that section uncovered all winter. I expected to see brown crispy plants destroyed by winter's freezes, but it appears that most of the plants survived not being covered at all.  That said, a large number of weeds also survived and sprang up in that section compared to the mulched sections.  I wish I'd taken a picture before I started working on it - you would have been impressed by the number and size of the dandelion plants I pulled and bagged.  So... going forward, regardless of any future plans I may think I have for the strawberry beds, I will aim to cover it all up with straw mulch to lesson the weed clean-up in the spring.

The bottom posts of the border are all rotting, and they've gotten out of kilter.  Greg bought some more posts yesterday for us to try to neaten things up.  And that front section (that I intended to let die off and replant) it needs some work still, but that's for another day.

The asparagus bed has me feeling a little hesitant about what to do.  We covered it with shredded leaves last autumn, and this spring the shoots seem slower to appear.  But we do have some: 

While these shoots give me hope there will soon be asparagus on the dinner plate, I want very much to rid the bed of weeds that will soon overtake it:  

The problem is, I can't see where most of the asparagus will shoot up, and I'm afraid of walking all over the bed, digging weeds, out of fear that I'll destroy some perfectly good asparagus shoots trying to make their way through all that leaf mulch.  

Every autumn since moving here I've put the asparagus bed to rest for the winter, hoping I haven't ruined the patch, and every spring the shoots appear (though last spring's were skinnier and not quite as prolific).  My hope with the thick leaf mulch is that the asparagus plants will receive nourishment and will produce better than last year.  At the moment, I'm a little concerned they might be smothered.  I'm thinking another week will either relieve my mind or confirm my fears.

Moving around the yard, I see we'll likely have a bumper crop of sour cherries.

And the Red Bud tree is gorgeous again.

I hope April is beautiful where you are!

Spring...

The weather has been telling us it's spring for the last month, but the calendar assures me it doesn't actually arrive until next Tuesday, the 19th.  I seem to remember not that long ago spring would appear on the calendar weeks before the weather would concede to its arrival.  The last few years it seems just the opposite.  We feel the tease of coming spring weeks (this year, more than a month) before the calendar confirms it.

All sorts of plants have been growing for the last few weeks, but today I finally snapped some pictures.  When I started taking these pictures two years ago, I didn't realize what a nice record it would prove to be.  

For example, in this post on April 22nd, two years ago, I can see that today's asparagus patch is producing a whole month earlier.  Even with last year's early spring, we didn't eat asparagus until the middle of April.

On Monday of this week, there were just a few small spears:

By Friday, this had happened:

I didn't get a picture of the whole patch, just the spot where there were a number of spears growing.   Our nights are supposed to dip below 30 a couple of nights this weekend.  If that doesn't ruin these spears, I think we'll be eating asparagus come Monday!

In the same vein, my various plant pictures are probably more for my record than for your enjoyment, but humor me as I post what's growing here.

Irises

Daylilies

Clematis

Egyptian Walking Onions

I remember, the first spring we were here, I was going to dig up these walking onions and do away with them.  I am so glad I didn't.  They provide entertainment all summer long as they produce new bulbils on the top of their green stalks and then fall over and those bulbils eventually produce new plants.  We've given away a bunch of these plants the last two summers.  I think I'm going to be a little stingy and let these replenish this year.

Somehow, I missed until this spring that this is a forsythia bush.  

Forsythia blooms make my heart happy.

And these Daffodils bloomed on Wednesday.  

Yes, I was watching that closely.  

They're not pictured, but I noticed that the sedum was growing in February.  And this week, the Bradford Pears and I think a Maple tree are budding out.    

For weeks, we've been serenaded by birds from early morning to evening time. It's nice to be treated to green growing things now too.  While our winter has been nothing to complain about, and even when I don't quite feel ready for it to warm up, spring always feels like a gift.  

~~~~~

The blossoms have already appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for pruning the vines,

And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

~ Song of Solomon 2:12

Beans, beans, the magical fruit...

15-bean soup mix

Overnight-soaked, wrinkly-skinned 

Prelude to dinner

The finished tan-gray soup can never do justice to these beautiful, colorful beans, so appreciating them before cooking seems a worthy thing to do.

Adding ham, onions, garlic, and chopped carrots (pretty much according to my post here), Ham & Beans Soup was enjoyed this week, and extra was shared with friends.

I don't know why I only seem to make this yummy soup once, at most twice a year, but this week was a perfect time for it.   The last of it was enjoyed on this snowy, wet February day.