At the Pond

Feeling sluggish this morning, even after coffee and my morning write, I opted to go straight out the door for a walk to shake off the sleepies.  When I stepped outside I could feel it would be a warmer day, though it was still a crisp 38 degrees.  Somethings changed, shifted, its April! and I can feel the spring is really going to happen now.  I trucked along the trail, down to the creek, checking out a few birds here and there, listening to the morning chorus that is growing by the day.  The creek has really been flowing smartly thanks to so much rain and I'm watching now hoping to see the big carp swimming up from University Lake to spawn.

 The may apples started unfurling in the past few days

On the way back by the pond I spotted a pair of geese swimming and a great blue heron fishing down at the marsh end so I stopped to take it all in.  I sat on the bench and watched a pair of kingfishers working on breakfast.  They would dash into the water with a splash, fly back up to a branch, whack the little silver fish thwack, thwack a couple of times to stun it, then reposition it in their bill and choke it down with a couple of gulps and a shake.  They were busy and I watched as they each caught several.

Placid morning pond, reflecting the fabulous blue sky

The turtles started to crawl up onto their logs for the daily sunbath.  I've counted as many as 15 lately on warm afternoons, lined up on the downed trees, large and small, mostly yellow-bellied sliders with a couple of snappers making themselves obvious, their fat heads sticking out, the size of my fist.  I wonder if they have their spots like kids in a classroom, regulars at a bar.  They are jumpy and won't let me get very close before they plop back into the water as I approach.

Oh, I am looking forward to the great unfurling, it is beginning and no matter how many years I watch, it never gets old.  Today, more weeding, hoping to get one of the big flower beds finished and mulched.  Wish me luck!

Transition Time

Here in zone 7 its time to start pulling out the summer crops and replacing them with things for fall. Yesterday the bedraggled squash went to the compost heap and I turned the soil and added compost and Plantone. This morning I seeded kale, more beets, bok choi and lettuce. I broadcast a mix of Asian greens; mizuna, radish greens, purple mustard and tatsoi, thinking I would harvest it small and use it as a braising mix in stir fries or as a side dish. Then I pulled out the bush beans and the last of the spring beets to make way for spinach and turnips to be sown this evening if I can get myself back out there...

The ocean of tomatoes seems to be smaller, maybe only a lake now, one section of the kitchen counter and one end of the kitchen table has been covered in red for many weeks. The freezer is full so I'm going to have to come up with a plan for the rest of these red beauties. And the peppers are coming on in earnest now, I picked these poblanos and will roast them today and squeeze them into the freezer some how. I've been fantasizing about real deal, honest to goodness chile rellenos and will have to try and make some while these pretty chiles are in their prime, stuffed with cheese, dipped in a coating of egg whites and flour and deep fried, they are spectacular, even if they aren't "on the diet" every now and then I gotta splurge.

And then there are these big bells, the Vidi now turning red and the Sunsation bright yellow, they will be filling salads and stir fries and getting dipped in hummus for several weeks to come.