Taxes finished- now I can fully enjoy the season

Dear friends-
Apologies once again for the long dry spell.  It's spring, what more can I say?  I just finished my taxes, phew, another year I managed to sort them out by myself with the help of Turbo Tax. Self-employment has some downsides, not the least of which is paying all 14% of your own social security, hopefully I'll actually get to collect back on that one day.

The past month has been filled with gardening both home and in town.  In the past few weeks I've enrolled about 15 new families bringing the total number of families in the three community gardens up to around 40.  I've only got a few plots left which is great.   It's the time of year when everyone is excited, the gardens are looking tidy and the new spring veggies are growing fast and green.  Hopefully the enthusiasm will continue,  there are always folks that flake out when it starts to get hot.

 On the home front- just a few highlights from the last few weeks:

New growth and cones on the evergreens, I roam around petting and fondling the tender tips

Weeping redbud Traveler.   My friend Michele says 

"Don't you want to sit and stare at that for about 8 hours and see how it changes you?"

If only I could find a spare 8 hours...

Apple trees in bloom, fortunately ours did not get nipped by the late frost last week

Pollen on the pond like marbled paper or chunky aggregate granite.  It's been so thick for weeks you could chew the air and everyone's complaining of scratchy throats, snotty noses, runny eyes and dusty houses.

Heavy rains in early April allowed the giant carp to swim up stream to spawn for the first time in several years.  Once their work is done, they die and become food for the critters.

Pinkster Azaleas in bloom.  They are finished now, the mountain laurel will be next...

That was just a taste really.  Been eating piles of asparagus, fresh baby green salads, radishes, finishing off the collards and kale from the winter, working away at last years storage crops, sweet potatoes, garlic, frozen tomato sauce and black-eyed peas, strawberries frozen and now fresh.

There have been lots of snakes of all kinds, new turtles come to court Gertrude, lizards galore and two gray tree frogs have taken up residence in the rain barrel.  They look like soft putty slapped down on the rim of the gray trash can, I can't put the lid on tight for fear of crushing them.

The lilac and dianthes are in bloom and their heavenly scents waft around the garden and into the open windows, rafts of blue and purple columbines adorn the front walkway with splashes of white daisies among them and dots of bright orange poppies scattered through.  The roses and peonies are about to put on the best show of our spring season.  I'll do my best to post some photos.

Now that the weather has settled down and nights are above 50 degrees for the most part, this coming week will be time to start planting the summer garden; tomatoes, beans, squash and cukes.  Once that is done, maybe we can slow down, but there is still lots of weeding, mulching and plant rearranging to be done...

Pollen, Pollen Everywhere

The world turned yellow this week when the pine trees started to shed their pollen, the windshield is covered every time I go to the car, my shoes are covered when I come in from a walk. It was so hot today and I REALLY wanted to open the windows but don't dare, the house is dusty enough already with out another 1/8 inch of pollen added to everything. Every vessel of water has a yellow scum on it and the pond looks like old mustard. When I washed the greens the other day I wondered if ingesting pollen on things we eat might make us less likely to be allergic, maybe sort of a homeopathic remedy? everything I pick has a lovely yellow haze across it, hopefully it will rain tomorrow and wash some of it down.

My dearest Jenny came today and helped me finish weeding, thinning and mulching all of the spring veggies, this was no small task and it was hot in the sun. Thank-you sweet pea, you made it bearable. Everything looks oh so happy now all dressed in a layer of dark brown leaf mulch- it really sets off the greens of the spinach, onions, lettuce etc. I'll make a picture tomorrow perhaps, too tired today.

I spotted this little guy down at the creek when I went for a walk late this afternoon- it looks like he has the pine needle in his mouth but I think he is actually resting his chin on it. Good to see the water still swirling down the creek.