At last, something

 

 

"Seems like a mighty long time" -- at last, something that resembles gardening. We've cleaned up some of the horrendous mess in the potting shed and made up a flat of kale and a flat of collards. Our kale seed crop did not really come through last year, so we used some seed that's now two (or is it three) years old, so the seeds were sprinkled liberally in lieu of a germination test. We don't mind thinning if it turns out they're still viable.

The Ancona ducks have now been banished from the garden so that certain things they were nubbing will grow again, such as the rhubarb and comfrey. Three of them then moved to the freezer. Well, two to the freezer, one to the roasting pan, with potatoes and onions, some seasonings straight from the herb bed, and a bit of wine -- used the homemade, which seems a bit underaged yet, but OK for cooking. This turned out well.

The filbert and a coppiced maple needed some thinning, so Risa made beanpoles -- extra tall ones for scarlet runners. Here they are seasoning on top of a couple of the woodpiles.

Let's get a closer look at the actual garden. Most of the beds are resting, but there are still plenty of last year's kale, collards and beets on tap. A much easier winter in our locale than the previous three.

Oh, and! Hung out laundry. On the line! Now that's spring.